A Sanguine Dawn
by Alexander Ericson
Summary: A wise stallion once told me: "Blood is the vessel of the soul, and the mind is the vessel of the heart. Without one, you are lost. But if you lack either and both, you are no better than the damned." I say let me be damned, for damnation is preferable to corruption, and a life of sin. (Please review constructively, and PM me if you wanna help me make a new cover! Thanks!)
1. Prologue

Prologue

Author's Note

Firstly, I must thank you for choosing my story before the thousands that you could have chosen. Secondly, this is indeed a My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic self-insert. Thank you for not closing this tab. Furthermore, this is a self insert as myself as a Pegasus stallion. I thank you again for not backing out. This story is what if I was a stallion from a far-off land, entering Equestria to escape my past, and start a new life. Almost all of my character's "history" in this story is based off of my own, and I will confirm facts in the author's notes here and there. Also, unlike many fan-fictions on the web, this one will have short chapters, but _lots_ of them. I am planning on having about 100 two-to-three page chapters, so I can put out more chapters more quickly. Several more little things I must cover are the possibility of "Lemons" in my story. I may or may not have erotic scenes, but most likely not. If I ever do, I will inform you, the reader, of their presence at the beginning of their respective chapter. Lastly, I will be making dozens, if not _hundreds_ of references to pop culture, history, and things of the like. Try to spot them, if you can… that covers it (I think), so stop reading my ramblings and get on with the story, my fellow Brony/Pegasister!

Once I put up the chapter, of course.

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P.S. All comments are encouraged(no matter how rude), as long as they point out errors or flaws.

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P.P.S. If anyone would like to help with a cover, that would be great. PM me if you are proficient in drawing ponies and cover art. Danke.


	2. Hard Landing

A Sanguine Dawn

Chapter I: Hard Landing

I pumped my jet-black wings harder as the wind blew faster, slowing me down, if not sending me backwards. In a storm like this, begin to guess if I was still on the right track. All I knew is that I couldn't land now, as a huge forest lay below me. Lightning flashed in the distance, my golden carapace shining in the light. At least, I thought it was a forest. I couldn't see very well through the rain and blinding winds. All I knew was that landing at these speeds into trees could prove to be fatal, demigod or not. My red and black striped hair flew into my eyes, and I had to throw back my head to clear my vision.

*FLASH*

Whoa. That one almost hit me. What in Luna's name was the weather team thinking, putting together a storm like this? I squinted through the storm, trying desperately to see any point of light. I _was_ headed to Canterlot, but any village or town will do for now. And no matter what land one hails from, lights mean someone's home.

*FLASH*

Again, too close for comfort. Maybe wearing metal armour in a lighting storm was a poor idea. In hindsight, leaving my family, my home, my _kingdom _was a bad idea. But the evil they were committing… behind my back… that was _truly _unaccepta-

*FLASH*

Searing pain grips me, from my tail tip to my nose. I quickly seize up, the electricity from the lightning strike pulling my muscles taught. I began to fall, faster and faster as gravity took its hold on me, and my vision started to blur.

"Damn" was all that could escape my lips as I hurdle to the ground. The lightning was incapacitating, but not lethal; another perk of being a member of the Sanguine Nobility. Now, about that fall…

I build speed as gravity takes its hold on me. The trees grow clearer as they grow closer. Closer… Closer… CLOSER… and then they stop. '_Great,_' I think; _'Now Instead of being shredded by the trees, I get to hit the hard ground.' _That was the last sarcastic thought I got in before I got to meet the ground personally.

_***THOOM***_

The first impact brings my mind forward again as my left wing shatters, leaving a crater in the ground. '_O__ne__ of two places I'm not armored...'_ But, thanks to physics, I get to bounce instead of stopping… wait… WHAT THE HELL IS PHYSICS?

_***THOOM***_

'_ow.'_

_***THOOM***_

'_OW.'_

_*** THOOM***_

'_**OW!'**_

I finally stop. I open my eyes, and I see that I'm lying in a crater about ten meters in diameter. Then the pain hits me like a train, a train that then backed up and hit me again. Wow. And to think training back home hurt. I have NEVER felt pain like this. I begin to black out, the only thing I see is a light in the distance. Just as my eyes were closing, they snapped open. _'A light! Salvation!' _I thought as I struggled to stand up, fighting the urge to scream in agony. I squinted through the rain, seeing a faint light ahead… nay, not one, but many. '_A small town… or a home with windows… in this weather, it is impossible to tell.' _I flinch as another wave of pain comes in. Then, I had the urge to look at the destruction I had caused from my crash landing. I looked behind me to see three craters, easily visible even through the rain. The furthest was easily 30 meters in diameter, the second about 20, and the third about 15. Water was pooling in each one slowly as I thought, '_The landscaper's going to have a fit.'_

I began to trudge through the mud and rain, my once golden armour caked with filth. My left wing hung limply by my side, dyed scarlet as I made my way to the light, becoming dizzy from blood loss. '_To do list: 1) Get to the pretty lights. 2) Pass out. 3) Find an apothecary. 4) Drug up on anti-biotics and pain killers until I pass out again. No real reason to go to an infirmary for something that can heal on its own.'_ The lights I saw earlier belonged to a small hut, whose windows were open allowing the light out. I limped to the door and raised my hoof. I knocked three times and stood there, waiting. I heard shuffling inside before the door opened, revealing a butterscotch mare with aqua blue eyes. Given different circumstances, I might have complimented her beauty, but now was not a good time, myself dying and all. She looked at me once, before her eyes went wide and she screamed.

"That's not very hospitable," I said before collapsing. The last thing I saw was a glaring rabbit at the mare's heel. Then everything went to black as I lost consciousness…


	3. My Loving Sister

Ch II: My Loving Sister

Memories… and darkness. But mostly darkness. Am I dead? I think I'm dead. Or dying. They _do_ say that your life flashes before your eyes when you're about to die. Let us see here… embarrassing moment… embarrassing moment… _REALLY_ embarrassing moment… ah… something happy…

I'm in the courtyard of Red Mane Keep with my sister. Scarlet Rain, my older sister… yes, I remember how nice she was to me. Before she… never mind. Her glossy black coat shined in the sunlight as her purple and black mane blew in the wind. Her bright violet eyes glistened as she charged up another shot. Her horn glowed bright orange before she let the shot loose. I flew up above, deftly dodging the shots. As each one misses, I hear the impact on a wall behind me, each shot shattering hardened stone bricks like glass. Each shot could easily hurt me, but we weren't fighting, we were _playing_. Our father Red Wing had us spar 8 hours a day, but we had been doing it since we were foals, and sparring seemed like a game at this point. Another explosion of stone sounded, directing my attention back to my sister.

She fired another rapid volley of concussion blasts, and I dodged to the right, down, right, left, then up. She was immensely powerful compared to normal unicorns, but "average" for a Sanguine Family unicorn. The only ponies that could cast greater magic were our mother, Scarlet Glimmer, and the Three Princesses themselves. Powerful magic was just another perk of being a Sanguine demigod.

She fired faster and faster until it was nearly impossible to distinguish two bursts apart. However, where my sister had power, I had dexterity and speed. I ducked, dodge, rolled, and twisted, but a single blast struck home, dead center of my chest. Thank Luna I was wearing my armour. I flew backwards into a wall, smashing into it with enough force to break a pony's back, obliterating the stone. As I rose from a small pile of debris, my point of view switched to 3rd person view… how is that even possible?

_***CRACK***_

The sound of shattering stone echoed through the morning air. As the Pegasus stumbled to his feet, his sister came trotting up to him, giggling as she neared. Not mockingly so, just in a friendly way.

"Come now, brother. I didn't hit you _that_ hard, just hard enough to crush a boulder. You've been through worse, even without your enchanted armour." The younger stallion looked at the unicorn, grinning.

"I'm tired of getting shot at, so how about we try _BUCKING!" _He lunged at the unicorn, hooves up, battering her as she tried her best to block the blows. They began to wrestle in the dirt, each blow causing showers of dirt, thanks to their augmented strength. After several minutes, they stopped, both bruised and weary.

"Dear brother," the sister began, "I am four years older than you and _still _you make me look weak in a fight!" She finished with a laugh, and the brother quickly joined in. Suddenly, a thundering boom sounded, signaling summons.

"Oh my, it appears we have been at it all morning. It's time for lunch, brother. Let us go meet mother and father in the Great Hall and see what the chefs have prepared for us." She giggled before adding: "And if the food isn't to our liking, like last night, we can always shoot the head chef out of the catapult." The younger brother nodded at this, and the two began to trot away as the memory faded to black.

I suddenly feel something pressing my side, but at the same time, it's a numb feeling. At least I can _feel_ anything. That tells me that I'm not dead. I strain to open my eyes, and an unexpected sight appears before me. I appear to be on a bed, on my back, looking up. All I see for a moment is blinding light. Then, I see an Angel, looking down at me.


	4. Two Angels and a Stallion

Ch III: Two Angels and a Stallion

I leap from the bed without thinking, landing on my hooves and wincing from the tremendous pain of moving so fast while so badly injured. The Angel stood there, gawking, mouth slack and eyes wide. I looked around the room, trying to take advantage of her distraction to gain as much information as possible. I appeared to be in the cottage that I collapsed at, the "Angel" being the butterscotch mare who answered the door. My wing felt like it was bandaged, and a quick glance proved it. I was also naked… but so was the mare. I turn to the "Angel" without warning, causing her to jump. I clear my throat before saying:

"I am only going to ask this once… Who are you, where am I, how long was I out, and why am I naked?" I thought about it before adding, "And why are you naked, if I might ask?"

The mare stood there, shivering. Her aqua eyes slowly shrank as I tapped my hoof on the ground impatiently. Finally, she gestured with her eyes to somewhere behind me. I slowly turned around, keeping my eyes on the mare before looking. There, on the floor, were several pillows with pieces of my armour resting on each one respectively. She clearly recognized their value, but did not make away with them… how interesting…

I nodded to her before making my way over to them, intent on dressing myself. However, after taking just a few steps, I collapsed onto the ground, my legs giving out.

"EEEP!" The mare flew to my side, obviously worried for me.

"Oh please don't move!" she squeaked, barely audible, "You're hurt! You mustn't move!"

I looked over my shoulder at her, eyes burning. I stood up slowly, causing her to cower down. I then slowly said:

"_I. Just. DID."_

The mare quickly scooted away into the nearest corner, scared senseless. It quickly became apparent to me that not only was she the most skittish pony I had ever seen, but I was also being rather asinine to the mare who saved my life. I turned my back to my armour and faced the shivering mare, (who I just now realized to be a Pegasus) and I took a few steps closer. I then straightened up, inhaled deeply, and softened my gaze.

"I must apologize for my inappropriate manner," I began softly, "But I can't help but feel alarmed when I wake up from what appears to have been a coma, naked, in a strange mare's home. Pray tell, what is your name, Miss…?"

"F-f-Fluttershy," She breathed, eyes locked onto mine.

"Miss Fluttershy, I do again apologize, as we appear to have gotten off on the wrong hoof." I then took a few steps away from her, and that seemed to have allowed her to relax… a little.

"I am Red Storm, son of Red Wing, and heir to the Sanguine Throne. Now, if I may ask again, where am I, and how long was I out?" the mare stood a bit taller now, but was still uneasy. She took a deep breath, and then began:

"You are in my home in the outskirts of Ponyville, near the Everfree forest. Ponyville is part of the Equestrian Empire, ruled by Princess Celestia and her younger sister, Princess Luna. You were in a coma for almost three days, and I thought you were going to die. You definitely have a broken wing, and I'm not sure, but may also have a sprained leg and even a concussion." The mare stopped to take a breath before continuing:

"I was afraid to take you to a hospital in your condition, and I didn't want to leave you alone to get help in case you woke up or something happened. The storm you arrived in stopped yesterday, and would you like something to eat for breakfast?" As if on cue, my stomach rumbled. She nodded to this and walked away, presumably to the kitchen.

I looked around the room again, but this time I saw something that surprised me. Along the wall near my armour were dozens of small woodland creatures, crammed into a corner. Every last one of them had a look of horror on their faces. I looked to my right and saw a mirror, instantly realising why they were acting like that.

I looked like a corpse that just climbed out of my grave. My coat was stained red in some places, brown in others, and ruffled in all other places. My mane was doing no better, and upon closer inspection, my bandages were dirty and hastily put on, dyed a sickly yellow from infectious fluid. However, the worst was my once handsome face. My eyes were bloodshot, my nose and mouth circled with dried blood, and I had a thick layer of dirt along my cheek.

"Wow" was all I could say as I forced down the urge to gag. I must give Miss Fluttershy credit for even being able to look at me, let alone perform first aid on me. Then I heard tapping below me. I looked down to see that same rabbit that I saw before passing out standing before me. He had a scornful expression on his mug, and his left hind leg was tapping the floor, front legs crossed. '_His courage is certainly larger than his wit,'_ I thought. I leaned in close to him and made a savage look, baring my teeth and staring into his very soul. His will held strong however, as he just stood there. Glaring.

"You have earned my respect, small one." I said to him before turning away and looking for where Miss Fluttershy had gone. I found her in the kitchen, in a floral apron preparing breakfast. I cleared my throat to attain her attention before asking:

"Excuse me Miss Fluttershy, but you wouldn't happen to have a shower that I may use, would you?" She looks at me sheepishly before quietly responding:

"Yes, I do. It's upstairs to the left, your highness." This made me pause. I looked at her and smiled.

"Thank you. And please, just 'Red Storm' is more than sufficient."


	5. Talking Over Breakfast

Ch IV: Talking Over Breakfast

I step out of the bathroom, feeling much better. I sling my towel over my shoulder as the steam from my shower drifts onto the floor. I then adjusted my new bandages, and attempted to brush my mane back, to no avail. '_I might need a mane-cut soon,'_ I thought distastefully. I have always had a long mane, but cutting it shorter could keep it from blowing in my face during flight… like during that storm. I then tilted my head back to inhale deeply. My nostrils were met with an intoxicating variety of scents, ranging from fruits, to greens, to grains, and a few other things I couldn't quite make out.

I made my way to the kitchen and there I saw quite the sight. Before me was dozens of plates and platters with food of all sorts, some I had never even seen before, stacked onto a small table. I gawked at the display, and turned to the butterscotch mare who stood near the table, pawing the ground with her hoof. She saw my surprise and began to explain herself:

"I'm sorry, Mr. Prince Red Storm. I had never had royalty over before, so I decided to prepare a little of everything." She looked at the ground again, not knowing what to expect. She jumped when I broke out laughing. I quickly made my way next to her, placing my hoof on her shoulder before saying:

"Miss Fluttershy, I'm sorry for not making this clear, but I do not wish to be treated like royalty. The flashy introduction is simply second nature to me, but I would certainly prefer if you treated me as an equal, and I will try to do the same." She nodded slowly to this, still slightly nervous it appeared.

"Just treat me like a normal stallion, ok?" I gave her a hopeful look, and she nodded with a smile in return. I then nudged the mare over to the table, setting a cushion for her. Once she sat down, I sat on another cushion across from her.

I could hardly see her over the mounds of food she had prepared, but something _did _catch my eye. I saw that the rabbit had seated himself next to Fluttershy. I began:

"Pray tell, what is that creature?" I said, nodding to the rabbit. "He shows no fear towards me like the other animals do, and he persists on making rather rude gestures to me." Fluttershy straightened up to see me over the food before speaking:

"Oh, that's Angel. He can be a hoof-full at times, but he is really a dear once you get to know him." I looked again at the rabbit, who then began to shake his head before miming the act of slitting one's throat and pointing at me.

"Indeed," I said, turning my attention beck to Fluttershy, "Quite the… charmer." She smiled innocently and moved her hoof as to indicate for me to start.

"Please, after you, Miss Fluttershy," I said, trying to sound suave.

"Oh! Why thank you!" she said, before serving herself, trying her best to cover up her forming blush. I then began to sift through the mounds myself before spotting something. Wheat cakes. I snatched up three of them and devoured them in one movement, much to Fluttershy's shock. I patted my mouth with a napkin formally before speaking:

"I know, I know. How _savage._ Well, I have not had wheat cakes in almost fifteen years, due to a rather strict diet my father had proposed back home." The mare just nodded, as if deep in thought. I added a few more wheat cakes and tied my napkin around my neck before beginning to cut and eat them more formally when she spoke:

"So, Red Storm, what exactly brings you here to Equestria?"

I paused for a moment, not expecting the question. I mean, I knew it would be coming, but not at this moment. I sat there, chewing while I thought of a way to tackle this. I put down my utensils and said:

"I am looking for a new place to settle, as I did not like my life back home. I put on my armour, took some bits, and started flying. Honestly, I _was_ headed for Canterlot, but that wretched storm landed me here." I chuckled lightly, but Fluttershy looked on inquisitively.

"You said you were a prince. How was your past life not enjoyable?" '_Damn! I set myself up for that one!'_

"My father is not like your Princesses. He is a _warlord._ He trained my sister and me for battle, every day since we could speak. And I know what you're thinking; '_Oh but you're the HEIR. You can't just run away from that responsibility!'_ Well, I actually can. When I left, my sister became heir sibling. I just keep the title because if I were ever to go back, I could easily take the throne, even if she were ruling at the time. Not like I ever _will_." The yellow mare just nodded. I picked up my silverware again and took another bite as she asked:

"How come I've never heard of your family?" I swallowed and replied:

"I'm not surprised. We only have influence in our lands, and we are also overseas. My family rose to power during the first Nightmare Moon catastrophe, because she enlisted us in the takeover of our half of the world. She failed on her front, but she made us powerful enough to build a kingdom out of ours. We actually are considered some of the best and most powerful rulers in our country's history, which makes sense as nopony ever rebelled. In theory, we _could_ invade if my father cared enough, but he is more than happy ruling his current kingdom." She just nodded again as I finished my meal with some vegetables. After we were both done eating, I helped her wash the dishes and wrap up the leftovers.

We sat in silence, sipping tea in the living room together on her couch. After about ten minutes of this, she spoke up.

"I should let you know, I have friends in town I could introduce you to. And I'm sure there's plenty of work you could do as well, after that storm and all." I thought about it. Meeting new ponies and helping out are essential to make a standing for myself in this new community. I put down my tea and nodded with a smile.

"Yes… I think I would like that very much."


	6. The Blue Baron

Ch V: The Blue Baron

As Fluttershy gathered herself and cleaned up her coat and mane, I began to put on my armour. I first put on the chainmail under garb, but while putting on the Carapace, I decided against the idea. '_I'm trying to make friends, not followers.' _As I put it back down, I saw the small, blood-red ruby in the center of the chest. The ruby was cut with extreme skill and was in a teardrop shape. But seeing the ruby reminded me of my Cutie Mark. I spun around to look at my flank, and when I saw it I sighed. The Cutie Mark showed a golden shield with a sanguine droplet in its center. '_Anypony with knowledge of ancient history and kingdoms will recognize that mark… oh well. Nothing I can do about it,' _I thought glumly. _'Let's just hope none of Fluttershy's friends are bookworms.'_

I met the yellow mare at the door, where she was waiting. I noticed that as before, she wore nothing. I asked her about this matter, saying:

"Pray tell Miss Fluttershy, why don't you ever dress?" The mare blushed in response before saying:

"Well, I guess you can say that Ponyville is a nudist colony. Nopony here _ever_ dresses unless it's for something special. Other places like Manehattan and Canterlot would frown on upon the prospect, but we usual keep to ourselves." I nodded at this, and then thought about removing _my_ clothing. I shrugged before removing my under garb. I could have sworn Fluttershy's eyes went wide as I undid the fastenings, but when I looked at her, she was facing away. When I was finished, I folded up the mail and laid it next to the rest of my armour.

As I walked back to the door, Fluttershy opened it for me, gesturing that I should go first. I instead took the door, and gestured for _her _to go first. She went ahead, nodding in thanks, and I then followed. I took the keys from her and locked the door. As I handed her back the keys, I heard a very faint but distinct whistling sound. I knew this sound well, from every time I flew at high speeds. My eyes went wide. I jumped over to Fluttershy and pushed her to the ground. Unfortunately, that's all I had time for.

"Halloa! Below there! Lookout, LOOKOUT!" were the last things I heard before something smashed into my left side with incredible force. Upon impact, I heard_ and_ felt my wing break again. Tears welled up in my eyes as I was flung to the ground, with my assailant soaring over me. '_Wow… this hurts more than the first time it happened… I didn't even think that was possible…_' I sat up, wiping my eyes from the accumulated tears and trying my best not to scream bloody murder… at least for Fluttershy's sake… '_Fluttershy! I had just thrown her to the ground, forgetting my strength! I could have killed her! I could have-'_

"Oh my goodness, Red Storm! Are you ok?" My mind slowed back to normal, hearing the squeaking voice behind me. I turned around to face the owner, and relived to see that she seemed ok.

"Peachy," I breathed, still trying to swallow my agony. I got up, and looked her over. She seemed unscathed, except her once straight, well combed mane was now frizzled and tangled. Oh well. Better than a compressed ribcage any day. Then, to my right, I heard a mare yell:

"That. Was. _**AWESOME!**_... But I should have pulled up sooner…" I looked to my right and saw a mare with a cyan blue coat, cerise eyes, and an unusual rainbow-colored mane trotting towards us.

"Who are _you_?" I demanded, furious over the mare's lack of responsibility, endangering myself and Fluttershy. She looked up to me, confused expression on her face.

"Whoa, sorry man. I was trying out a new stunt," she said. "Heyy… I've never seen you before! Name's Rainbow Dash. I see you've already met Fluttershy…"

"Red Storm, this is one of my friends that I wanted you to meet," Fluttershy said, smiling. I blinked a few times before I remembered to introduce myself.

"I am Red Storm, son of-" I stopped myself. "Sorry. Old habits die harder than a Germane." Upon saying this, both mares looked at me sideways, rather confused.

"It's a bad joke about an action film… never mind." Everypony stared at each other awkwardly until Rainbow Dash saw my good wing.

"Hey! You're a Pegasus too! We should race sometime!" I turned to my right so she could see my now-bleeding _left_ wing, vermilion dying the bandages. "Oh…Oh! Did I do that? Oh man, I am SORRY! I will make it up to you! I promise!" I just shrugged.

"Oh well. Accidents happen. No need to go and start saying you owe me for something so insignificant. " The mare stared at me, gawking at my ignorance of the fact she just re-broke my wing. She then just sighed and said:

"Well… alright. But at least promise me we'll race when your wing is healed, ok?" Her eyes wore a look of regret, but behind them was a fire burning… maybe fire is inaccurate. Perhaps an _inferno_ is a better word to use.

"You're on," I stated plainly, grinning widely and abandoning my formal form of speech. I quickly added with a blush however, "Though, you should know… I'm a bit of a weak flyer. My wing power average is only a 16.5." I smiled meekly, but was surprised when the two mare's jaws dropped.

"A 16.5 wing power _average_?!" Rainbow Dash bawled, "That's the same as _my_ average! And you're trying to tell me that you're _SLOW?_ I'm the fastest in Equestria! How can we have the same average!?" Fluttershy then joined in:

"That's more than four times _my_ average! How could you ever think that you're slow?" I looked at each mare, blinking. Then I burst out laughing.

"I say that I'm slow because my father, Red Wing, has a top speed that is at least _fifty __times _my own! He is so fast, that when we tried to measure his top speed, the wing power meter _EXPLODED!_" Immediately after saying this, however, my smile turned to a frown, as I then remembered my father and the evil he had committed…

The two mares stared in disbelief. Rainbow Dash then broke the silence by saying:

"WELL! This just means I'm gonna need to train my tail off! Where's Micks when you need him…" And without further ado, she took off, her air displacement showing she hit at least 8 WP upon takeoff. Once the neon blue Pegasus was out of sight, I turned to Fluttershy and asked:

"So, that's one 'friend' down, who's next?"


	7. The Voice in my Head

Ch VI: The Voice in my Head

Fluttershy told me that the next friend she wanted to meet was a mare named "Rarity", as that was her next best friend, and she lived nearby on the way to the rest of her friends. As we trotted through the town headed for what Fluttershy called the Carousel Boutique, which is apparently Rarity's home and clothing store.

"I think the two of you will get along very well," Fluttershy began. "Rarity is classical in nature, like you are. She also uses a lot of the vocabulary you do, and she is also really into politics and other things like that. I have a feeling that the two of you will be getting along rather well…" the shy mare added, seeming strangely upset at this. Seeing this, I took action, saying:

"Perhaps, but I'm sure that she is nowhere as charming as you are, Miss Fluttershy." She blushed at this before responding:

"Oh, please, really. There's no need for that. And you can just call me 'Fluttershy'." I got down on my knees as knightly as possible, head down, tail flat before saying:

"But of course, m'lady. Your will be done." We then both laughed at this, before continuing.

Fluttershy began to try to make small talk about weather, but I hardly heard the mare as we continued, as not only was she speaking rather quietly again, but mainly because how busy the town was… in a weird way.

Everypony was working today, trying to repair all the damages caused by the storm; patching holes in walls and roofs, replacing broken windows, and cleaning debris. The reason why this was weird is not the activities being preformed, but the _way_ they were doing them. For some unfathomable reason, everypony was singing and dancing as they worked, all in sync, not a single step faltered, not a single lyric missed; by anypony. I asked Fluttershy about this. She thought about it for a moment, before saying:

"Honestly, I'm not sure. This sort of thing happens every time there's a big project or event. It was going on as a tradition long before I came to town. I think it's because almost everypony in town knows each other, and because everypony is just really friendly." I simply nodded, most of my attention focused on watching the spectacle before me. What really surprised me is how much work they were getting done in this fashion. In the time it took for us to trot past, they had rebuilt a fence and swapped all the windows in a house, while singing a cheery (and rather catchy) tune.

We continued walking, and as we did, Fluttershy would point out places of interest, such as Town Hall, the local spa, and a new restaurant that had just opened called the "Cat's Eye Café". She also told me the names of many ponies as we walked by them, waving when they saw us. She pointed out Miss Lyra Heartstrings and her marefriend Bon-Bon Sweetie Drops; a strange stallion that went by the name "Doctor Hooves"; a carrot vender named Golden Harvest (nicknamed "Carrot Top"); and the odd couple Octavia And Vinyl Scratch, the local cellist and Disc-Jockey. Octavia had her tail and mane well groomed, and stood with a perfect posture. Vinyl Scratch however, had a wild mane and tail, and was slouching slightly. She was also wearing dark violet shades. '_I can't help but wonder how two totally different ponies could live together… then again, I don't even know them, so who am I to judge?' _I then heard Fluttershy begin to talk again, so I turned back to her.

"Well, there it is, up ahead," the mare said, pointing to a building that did in fact resemble a boutique made from a carousel. "And one more thing: Rarity may be tempted to give you a 'makeover' when she first sees you. And don't worry; she does that to everypony who's new in town. Don't fight it; it's easier to just go with it." She finished with a small smile. I returned the smile as I opened the door for her as made our way inside. However, as I walked in behind her, I heard a faint voice say:

"_How so very cute."_


	8. Black Knight, White Princess

_Authors note: Sorry again for the wait… but here it is! The next chapter! And remember, any and all reviews are accepted! Also, special thanks to JackleApp on Youtube for inspiring me to write "_A Sanguine Dawn" _with your "_Griffin Village_" songs. But please, enough of my blathering; feast your eyes:_

Ch VII: Black Knight, White Princess

As we entered the boutique, my eyes were greeted with the greatest thing I have seen since I had left home. Genuine fashion.

As I traveled lands, making few stops, something I had not seen was a good taste in fashion. Many ponies were draped in rags that passed for clothing in almost every village or town that I stopped in. When I landed here in Ponyville, I was shocked to find that everypony was actually nude. But here, I found dozens of beautiful suits and dresses, all at surprisingly affordable prices. I found it ironic that the one place that offers such wares on a farmer's salary was in a nudist colony. It took Fluttershy several minutes to get me to focus again. Then, I heard a delightful voice sound from the next room over.

"Hold on, please! I'm busy at the moment! I will be right out! Do please look at the displays while you wait!"

I obliged, looking at the several suits on display, awed at their attention to detail, every seam made with the skill of an artisan. Most were simple black tuxedos, but some were unique suits, ranging from grey to pale blue, or maroon to violet. The dresses outshined everything however, many made with the finest silks, threads, and adorned with gems of all shapes and colours. Some were so beautiful, so stunning, that they could have only been made for nobility. This realization proven by the price tag. 2000 bits for a sapphire-gemmed dress that also had frills along the edges. Very nice, but _very _expensive. Unfortunately, my browsing came to an abrupt end when the mare who spoke earlier came out of her back room.

I instantly had the urge to get down my knees and recite poetry, an urge I thankfully fought down. Before me stood a simply stunning mare, one who rivaled her artisan wares in beauty. She was a unicorn, and her coat was a pure white, not a particle of dust or dirt on it. Her mane and tail were both a nice She also had eyes as blue as the diamond cutie marks on her flank… _"Wow. That is a nice flank." _I shook my head briefly to rid myself of the thought. "_No need to go lusting for a mare whom you just met,"_ I thought before shaking my head again. I look up again to see her giving Fluttershy a friendly hug. I quickly make my way over and introduce myself to this new and stunning mare.

"You must be Miss Rarity, the mare that Fluttershy brought me here to meet," I said, hiding my awe like a professional, "My name is Red Storm, and it a pleasure to make your acquaintance." The white unicorn turned to me, and jumped back in horror.

"Oh my!" she started, "It's nice to meet you too darling, but we _really_ must do something about your _MANE_. It's… it's… _DREADFUL!_" I blinked a few times before looking up at my mane. All that seemed wrong with it was that it wasn't combed like it normally was, and perhaps a bit long. She picked me up with her magic before sitting me down in a nearby barber's chair. A gown was then thrown over me and before I knew it, she was giving me a manecut. I looked at Fluttershy, who just shrugged and smiled weakly.

After about five minutes, the chair was spun around and she began to work on my tail. I simply sat there, back straight, staring forward, like a statue. After another five minutes, Rarity said:

"Done!" The gown was removed, and a broom floated over and began to sweep the floor. I got up, and a large oval mirror was floated in front of me. I looked into it, and saw that my mane was much shorter, as it was almost non-existent around my neck, and it wasn't as much length to the top either. However, with the shorter mane, she managed to spike my mane up at the front, in a rather appealing way. She also shortened my tail, but didn't seem to have altered it in any other way. I looked over to Rarity, who stood there, facial expression showing that she wanted my opinion. I looked at my reflection again before saying:

"It's perfect, Miss Rarity. I don't believe I have ever had a manecut this marvelous. Thank you." The white unicorn grinned widely at this, before trotting back into the center of the room, head high, saying:

"Well, one can only expect perfection from moi! And don't you worry about a fee, that one is on me." She then turned back around to face me. A look of glee on her face. "Now, remind me, what is it you came here for?"

"Well, we had come here so that I could meet you," I said, "Seeing as I am new here in town, Fluttershy had suggested I should make some friends. You being one of her own closest friends, she thought to start with you." The mare tilted her head to one side as if to think about this, before saying:

"That makes sense. Well, anyway, if you don't mind, I need to ask you to leave. As pleasant as it was to meet you, I have much work that needs to get done. A very big order for a wedding, you see. Maybe we can speak again later, once I'm done." I looked over to Fluttershy, who nodded to this. I then said:

"Very well then. That sounds nice. We should get going as well, as time waits for nopony!" With that, Fluttershy and I moved to the door, waving goodbye as we exited. Once outside, I asked the mare beside me:

"What is our next plan of action? Judging by the angle of the sun, we have about three-to-four hours before nightfall. Who do you wish for me to meet next?" The pegasus mare thought for a moment about it, before saying:

"We should go meet my friend Pinkie Pie at Sugarcube Corner, then go to Sweet Apple Acres to meet Applejack, and then go to the Library to meet Twilight Sparkle." Sounded good to me.

"Ok. Seems like a good plan to me. Let us-" And that was all I managed to say before a Pink Mare jumped out of the bushes next to us, scaring me terribly.


	9. Balloons, Blood, and Butterflies

Ch VIII: Balloons, Blood, and Butterflies

"RAAAAR!" the mare roared as I jumped back, defensively covering Fluttershy with my own body.

"Back away, creature! I won't tell you twice!" I said, waving my forelegs at the strange mare. The mare then sat down and laughed.

"HA-HA! Got you!" she laughed, rolling on the ground now, "You should have seen the look on your _face!_ I was like _RAAAAR_! And you were like _AAAHHH!_ It was too funny!" I stood there, baffled.

"This is my friend Pinkie Pie," whispered Fluttershy, requiring me lean in to hear. Pinkie Pie was an earth pony, who (you guessed it) was pink in colour. Her mane was a slightly darker shade of pink, but pink nonetheless. Her Cutie Mark depicted three balloons; two blue and one yellow. I wondered what it stood for.

"Hey, wait a moment! You're new here in Ponyville, right?" She suddenly said, shattering my thoughts. "I mean, I know everyone in town, but I don't know you. Which brings me to the conclusion that you're not from around here… _AM I NOT CORRECT?_" She was suddenly wearing a detective-style hat as she added that last part. I didn't even _see_ her put it on. It just… appeared.

"Uh… yes. I am new here in Ponyville. My name is Red Storm. Pleasure to meet-"

"Oh, but the pleasure is mine, Red Storm! I finally get to meet someone _NEW!_ It's been over a week since I made a new friend, and I was beginning to think that I had already met everyone there is to meet! I even know all of the Royal Guards in Canterlot! But now you're here, and that means I get to throw you a _WELCOME TO PONYVILLE PARTY!_" I swallowed at this notion, and my eyes went wide. Primarily because in place of the detective's hat, there was a party hat, and there was suddenly balloons and streamers surrounding her. _WHAT SORCERY IS THIS?_ But a party? _FOR ME?_ I cannot allow it. Someone in town is _BOUND _to know about my hieritage, and if I am discovered, then it would be a matter of time before I would be run out of town, followed by an angry mob armed with pitchforks and torches.

"You don't say?… That sounds wonderful, however," I began, showing her my wing, "I am in no condition for a party. Can we perhaps… delay the event? I would prefer to just meet the rest of Fluttershy's friends, then find a nice hotel to stay at for a week or so. Then, once my wing is fully healed, we can talk about planning such an event. Until then, can you promise me that you'll pretend we never met?" Pinkie Pie jumped at the word "Promise". She shoved everything she had on hand into a nearby tree trunk before saying:

"I promise! Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" As she said this odd rhyme, she, well… crossed her heart and then poked herself in the eye. Then she turned away from me and faced Fluttershy.

"Hiya Fluttershy! How are _you_ today?" The mare pretended as if I wasn't even there anymore. A strange one she is.

"Didn't you already say hello to me?" The butterscotch mare asked, playing along. Pinkie Pie looked straight up before saying:

"Nope! Just look at paragraph Three! I scared you, then I started to laugh at scaring you, but I forgot to say hi in the process!" We both looked at her sideways.

"Paragraph three? What are you talking about?" I asked her, but she just kept on looking at Fluttershy. Fluttershy, taking note of this, asked her the same question.

"Oh, never mind!" the pink earth pony giggled, "Just breaking dimensional laws again! Anyway… I need to get going. The Cakes have a _lot_ of work for me today! Got cupcakes to bake, and walls to break! See you later!" And with that, she jumped into a nearby bush, vanishing without a trace.

I stood gaping for a moment or two, before I checked the bush. Nothing. No secret tunnel, no trapdoor, no magic residue. Nothing at all. She had once again broken all logic and laws of nature. How does the pony do it? I turned to Fluttershy, who stood waiting for me to finish my little investigation.

"You act as if this is normal, or even possible. Why?" I asked. She plainly responded:

"It's just how Pinkie works. She's impossible to understand… She's force of nature, in a sense." I thought about it for a moment, before saying:

"Yes, well, if I didn't know any better, I would say that she is Discord in disguise." I paused, wondering the plausibility of that. No… definitely not. "So, we are off to 'Sweet Apple Acres'… to meet…?"

"Applejack."

"Right then! Off we go! From her location, I presume she is a farmer? We have but a few more hours, and I shall not keep you up into the night!" I then leaned in close, putting on a suave grin. "I _would_ say that a mare needs her beauty sleep, but you seem to get _more_ than plenty!" She blushed, running a hoof through her mane, before leading on at a brisk pace. As I trotted to keep up, I heard the same voice from earlier:

_"Sweet talk will get you nowhere here, mongrel."_


	10. One Friendly Bushel

_Author's note: Also, the thing I forgot about in the prologue was that in this fanfic, all the ponies have human-length life spans… just wanted to clear that up. Red Storm is in his early thirties, as are the mane six, excluding Rarity who is in her mid-forties. Anypony else of significance will be talked about later. Thanks for your support, and read on!_

Ch IX: One Friendly Bushel

Fluttershy and I trotted on at a steady pace rather quietly, which was just fine. I don't mind not talking, and it also allowed me to look around to see my surroundings. Call me paranoid, but this also allowed me to mentally mark spots that would be good for an ambush. Perhaps it stems from trauma I suffered living with my father, as he trained me to expect attack anytime, anyplace by… well, attacking me at random points throughout the day. He once attacked me from a pantry. He had been waiting in there for three hours, just so he could surprise me. So much for a childhood…

"Well, here we are!" Fluttershy said, breaking my concentration. I hadn't even noticed we had arrived at the orchard, let alone the ponies working there. I looked around, seeing the beautiful trees around me, filled with even more beautiful apples of all colours. The most common colour however, was red. So many beautiful red apples surrounded me, I forgot where I was for a moment, indulged in the simple pleasure of being able to behold nature's splendor. Then, a voice awoke me from my trance… a rather odd one.

"Well howdy there, Fluttershy! Fancy seein' you here! And who's this new stallion you got here with you?" I looked down from the tall branches to see a mare standing nearby at the end of the dirt road we were standing on. The mare had an orange coat with a blonde mane and tail, both of which were tied back as ponytails. She also had bright green eyes that shone with a will like I had never seen before. She wore a rather fashionable dusty-brown Stetson hat, and had some freckles. Finally, she wore a Cutie Mark of three red apples on her flank… I stared for a moment. Then I blinked, realizing I had been staring _at her flank_. This is the second time this has happened, and I really must stop.

"Well there, howdy to you, Miz Applejack! Nice to finally get the chance to meet you!" I said, abandoning my classical speech for my causal dialect, much to Fluttershy's utter surprise. Believe it or not, I actually used to talk like that before my father drilled "proper mannerisms" into my head. I felt relieved to be able to talk like that again, amongst other ponies who do as well. Of course, I still maintained proper speech when talking like_ this,_ just with a bit of an "informal" twist.

"Well, judgin' by the look on Fluttershy's face, you _haven't_ been talkin' like _that_, now have you…? I'm sorry. Whats yer name?"

"Red Storm. And no, I haven't been talkin' like _this_ until just now. However, just 'cause I'm slurrin' a word here an' there, doesn't mean that I have as strong an' accent as _you_. So no, before ya ask, I'm not mockin' you, I'm just fallin' back to old habits, before I was _civilized_." At that, the orange mare grinned.

"Well all right, I like that answer. Come on, while yer here, ya might as well meet the rest o' the Apple family!" As we followed the mare over to a nearby farmhouse, Fluttershy leaned over to me, and whispered:

"How come you never talked like that before?"

"It's mainly because I wanted to set a good impression on all of your other friends. It's also because I hardly _ever_ talk that way anymore. I was trained like a dog to be civilized to everypony, and that's exactly what I'm going to do," I whispered back, reverting to my normal, formal speech again. "Although, I like ta sneak it in here an' there when I get the chance," I said with a grin.

We followed Applejack to the farmhouse and there, at the front door, stood a tall, very muscular red earth pony stallion. He had the same color eyes as Applejack, so I assumed that they were related. He was dripping with sweat and had clearly been working hard. He had a Cutie Mark of a split green apple, and had a mane similar to mine before it was cut, just a dirty blonde colour.

"This here is ma brother Big Macintosh. He does a lot of the heavy liftin' around here," Applejack said, gesturing to the red stallion with a nod of her head. "This is Red Storm. He's new here in Ponyville, i'm jus' givin' him the tour of the place," she said, this time to Big Macintosh. He nodded to me, but was obviously tired and didn't move otherwise. As we made our way around to the barn, waving to Big Macintosh as we passed, I spotted movement out of the corner of my eye. Soon after, I heard a light "zipping" noise, not unlike the sound of a buzzing fly. Buzzing; a much better adjective to use. I looked to the source of the noise and saw a small wagon with a pair of fillies in it being headed by a scooter with another filly steering. From the erratic movements, I could tell they were out of control, as right when I saw them, the filly driving yelled:

"Lookout! Incoming!" This time, I saw it coming. I grabbed Fluttershy and Applejack, one in each foreleg, and jumped to the left, dodging the careening wagon by a few feet. After the dust settled, the wagon was tipped over, the fillies were dazed in a pile, and the two mares were brushing themselves off. The driver was orange with a purple mane, the first passenger was white with another purple mane (Looking a bit like Miss Rarity) and the final filly was yellow with red a mane, with a matching bow on top. I immediately knew the last filly had to be related to Applejack. The driver of the wagon got up and had a guilty look on her face. The other two untangled themselves and then got up to join the first. I then noticed that none of the fillies had their Cutie Marks.

"Oh man, I am so sorry mister!" the orange filly began.

"We lost control and didn't see you until the last second!" The white one continued.

"We're so very surry 'bout the whole thing!" The final filly's accent proved her relation to Applejack. I then shoved my tail in their mouths to tell them to hush.

"It's fine, really," I began with a soothing voice. "Was anyone hurt?"

"No," they all chimed together.

"Then everything's all right," I finished with a smile, standing tall again to face the two mares. Applejack stepped forward and opened her mouth to begin:

"Sorry 'bout that Red Storm. These here are the Cutie Mark Crusaders. The orange one's Scootaloo, the white one is Rarity's sis Sweetie Belle, and the yellow one is my little sis Apple Bloom"

"It's fine, really," I chucked with a smile, "No one was hurt, and besides, I love little ones. They are all so very cute with their hectic antics," I added, looking at the three young fillies with a caring smile.

Suddenly, a nearby door flung open, revealing a rather irritated looking green old mare.

"Wass all the commotion about?" She asked, eyeing the group, one-by-one. Then she saw me and pointed at me with a bony foreleg. "Who's he? A trouble maker? A new farmhand? A colt-friend of yours perhaps?" She asked, facing Applejack. The orange mare blushed at this, before saying:

"Naw, Granny Smith, nothin' like that. He's new in town, and was just givin' him the tour. His name's Red Storm." The old mare eyed me suspiciously before asking:

"What about all that ruckus that I heard?"

"These three here, Granny," Applejack said, gesturing to the three fillies. The green old mare gave me one final look before saying:

"Well, all righty then. Nice to meet you, Mr. Red Storm. I'm gonna be heading back inside, holler if ya need anything." And with that, she left. When I turned around, The "Cutie Mark Crusaders" were already back on their mini vehicle, speeding down the dirt road out of the farm.

"Well, that was interesting, to say the least," I said to Applejack. "Thank you for showing me around, but we really must be going now. It's getting late, and we had other plans for the evening…" And so with that, we waved goodbye, and started on our way back into town. Fluttershy looked at me while we walked and said:

"Well now, wasn't that exciting?" I nodded with a grin. "All we have to meet now is Twilight Sparkle. She lives in the town library, so let's head over before it gets dark."

_Writing this chapter was so much fun because of how many red and green lines the correction program gave me! More commin' up, and don't forget to post your reviews!_


	11. An Inferno at Twilight's Light

_Author's Note: Prepare yourselves! The final chapter of act one is here! I'm making it almost twice as long as a normal chapter, and I hope you enjoy it! Read on:_

Ch X: An Inferno at Twilight's Light

We made our way to the library, I watched as the sun began its descent into twilight time. How ironic that I would be meeting a mare named Twilight at the time of day she was named after. The sky had few clouds left, and the suns final rays were casting beautiful colours upon them. Among the hues of orange and purple was an eerie blood red. I stopped to look at the sky, and when Fluttershy questioned my action, I simply pointed up. The two of us stared at the sky for several minutes before I looked at her again. The way the light played across her features was magical, making her aqua eyes even more brilliant and her face heavenly. I lost my focus in the sky and gazed dreamily upon her, until she noticed that my attention was no longer on the clouds. She looked at me, and I looked away, blushing. Luckily, the reddening of my cheeks was unnoticeable through the reddish light and my black coat. I started walking again, and Fluttershy followed suit; but we continued to look upwards as we walked. After a while, she said:

"It's simply beautiful." I looked at her, and with a dreamy smile I said:

"Perhaps. But its beauty pales in that of which is yours." Upon saying this, my heart stopped. '_What did I just say? Did I just call her beautiful? What is happening to me? Am I becoming a soppy romantic? Nay… this __must__ stop_'

"Oh, why thank you, Red Storm. That's very sweet of you." Her comment caught me off-guard. When I came out of my mind again, I looked around, noticing that the streets were oddly empty. '_It's not even that late yet… After all, it is early autumn.'_ I also noticed that all of the damage was repaired around the town. So much for helping out. I looked at Fluttershy, who had an odd smile on her face displaying… hope? We stood, looking at each other. I then turned around and continued walking, and Fluttershy soon followed once more. The rest of the walk was in silence.

We arrived at the library quickly, and once we arrived, Fluttershy immediately stepped up to the door and knocked three times:

_Knock-knock, _"Twilight?" _knock-knock,_ "Twilight?" _knock-knock_, "Twilight?" The butterscotch mare then moved away from the door and waited. Inside, I heard a mare's voice, then a masculine one. The odd thing was, the masculine voice didn't sound like any stallion I had ever heard, and it also sounded a bit… high?

The door was opened to reveal a small purple dragon, likely a baby. He looked at me, and I looked at him. Finally, he broke the stare by looking to the mare beside me and saying:

"Hiya Fluttershy! Who's this creepy-looking' colt you got with you?" Creepy I can understand, but upon hearing the word "colt" I snorted, standing up to my full height. The baby dragon immediately recoiled, saying:

"Whoa, sorry there buddy. I'm Spike. What's your name?" I cracked my neck (much to Fluttershy's anguish), relaxing my body before calmly saying to him:

"My name is Red Storm. It's nice to meet you Spike. Would you be so kind as to let Fluttershy and I enter?" The baby dragon then stepped aside, allowing me access. I, however, allowed Fluttershy to enter before going in myself, as usual.

Upon entering, I saw hundreds, if not thousands of books adorning the walls of the library. In the center of the room, sat a purple unicorn mare. The mare (whom I guessed to be Twilight Sparkle) had a rather short dark-blue mane with streaks of purple and magenta in it. She bore a Cutie Mark of a six point star surrounded by five, smaller, six-point stars. She also had deep purple eyes, and a bright magenta magic aura as demonstrated when she used telekinesis to re-place a book she had been reading when we walked in. She looked over to Fluttershy and said:

"Oh! Hello Fluttershy! What brings you to the library?" Then she saw me. "And who is this? A new friend of yours? What's your name?"

"Red Storm. And you must be Twilight Sparkle. It's nice to finally meet you." I extended a hoof, but she just stood there, staring. She appeared to be scanning me up and down, and I wondered why…

'_MY CUTIE MARK!_' I tried to cover my flank with my tail, but it was too late. I was lifted in the air by her magic, before being thrown against the nearest wall. Fluttershy made her way over to Twilight as I regained my footing.

"Umm… Is there something I should know about?" The quiet mare said, but too quiet to be heard by her raging friend. Right as I got to my hooves and was about to explain myself, I was picked up again before being smashed into another wall, scattering books everywhere.

"_Why are you here?!"_ The purple unicorn roared as I spotted Spike standing in a corner, terrified. In another corner across the room I saw Fluttershy hovering, shocked into silence.

I got up again, but this time Twilight Sparkle shot a concussion blast at me. '_Ah, just like home.'_ I evaded the blast easily, dodging to my right as it hit the wall behind me. She was clearly too angry to think clearly as she could have just grabbed me again. More books scattered, some singed as I made my across the room, evading every spell she fired. Soon, I was but a few feet in front of her. Just as I was about to tackle her, she picked me up again. This time however, she wasn't letting go. Quite the contrary really, as she began to squeeze.

"_What do you want with us? Are you planning to invade? WHY ARE YOU HERE?"_ With every sentence, her grip on me tightened, and soon I began to feel my joints pop. Next would be my bones. I wailed in agony as both my forelegs dislocated with sickening pops. I looked down at the mare who was killing me. She stared at me with utter hate. What I saw next really surprised me. I saw Fluttershy walk up to her friend, before slapping her across the face.

The unicorn's concentration shattered like glass, dropping me onto the ground as the Pegasus mare confronted her friend.

**"**_**WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? YOU COULD HAVE KILLED HIM! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" **_The mare's shouting quieted the room, including Spike who had been weeping in his corner. Twilight got up slowly and looked Fluttershy in the eyes before saying:

"I'm trying to protect you, and everyone else in Ponyville!" The purple unicorn then turned back to me. "He's part of the Sanguine Nobility. An evil family who worshiped Nightmare Moon as a god, and had allied with her during the Great Nightmare Moon Cataclysm. _He's_ likely even more dangerous than Queen Chrysalis, Discord, and King Sombra _COMBINED_." Fluttershy looked at me sideways, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Red Storm… is… is this _true_?" I looked away from her, closing my eyes.

"Yes," was all that I could say. After a long moment of silence, I looked at her again. She now had tears streaming down her cheeks, and Twilight Sparkle glared at me, brimming with hate.

"When were you going to tell me this, *sniff* if ever?"

"I was going to tell you once I thought you could handle it." I closed my eyes again as Fluttershy began to bawl. Then, I opened them again, my will renewed.

"However, Twilight Sparkle, there is one thing you are wrong about." I said as I relocated my forelegs with my teeth.

_***POP***_

_***POP***_

I stood up, facing the unicorn who was stunned. Honestly, I was trying my best not to scream in agony. I swallowed my pain as I pointed a hoof at her.

"You are wrong; because even though I am the Sanguine Prince, I am _NOT_ part of that _sick_ and _twisted_ family." Fluttershy stopped crying to look at me, but all of my attention was focused on Twilight Sparkle.

"When I _found out_… What they had been _doing…_ _BEHIND MY BACK FOR ALL THOSE YEARS…_ I left them. I left my kingdom. I left my subjects. I left that _excuse_ of a family to find a new life. I can understand if _you_ don't want me here. But do _not,_ I repeat; _DO NOT_ say that I am _part_ of that _**FAMILY!**_" I stood there, out of breath from yelling. Twilight Sparkle just stared at me, but Fluttershy ran across the room and hugged me.

A hug was the last thing I expected right now. I stood motionless, not knowing what to do. But after a few moments, I slowly wrapped my forelegs around the mare, meeting her hug with a hug of my own. For the first time in my life, I shed a tear; not from pain, but from joy. The joy of being accepted

Eventually, Fluttershy broke from the hug, and looked into my eyes. Tears were still apparent on her cheeks, but no longer from sadness.

"Promise me you won't ever be like them," she whispered feebly.

"Cross my heart, hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye," I whispered back.

'_Wow. What a corny thing to say,'_ said the voice in my head. I thought back:

_'How about you shut the hell up for a change?_' There was no response. Twilight Sparkle then came up beside me, and place a hoof on my shoulder. I growled at her, but then she said:

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for judging you as an evil pony for some silly mark on you flank. I'm sorry for attacking you before you could say anything. I'm sorry for nearly ruining your chance at life here in Ponyville, and I'm sorry for nearly ruining your friendship with Fluttershy. I hope you can forgive me, and give me another chance to be your friend too." My snarl softened to a smile. I removed a foreleg from Fluttershy and wrapped it around the purple unicorn who had nearly killed me mere minutes ago.

"I forgive you, Twilight Sparkle."

Fluttershy and I waved as we exited to library, with Spike and Twilight waving back. The last thing I saw before the door closed was Spike starting to clean up the debris from the fight. Poor guy. I will have to send him some nice gems to snack on as my way of an apology.

After a while of walking together under the moonlight, we reached Fluttershy's cottage. She invited me over for the night, but I refused. However, she wouldn't let me leave until I said yes, so it appears that I will have to sleep over. Oh well, no complaints from me…


	12. Act I Transition

Act I to Act II Transition

Alexander: I must thank all of you for reading, and I must urge you to please, _please_ post your opinions! I can't make my story any better if you don't tell me errors and imperfections! I also want to know any thoughts on the plot so far. I want to hear what you think will happen, and as of right now, I have a storyline, but I'm willing to listen to suggestion! One more thing; my current avatar and cover are both from the Pony creator, and I would LOVE if someone were to draw me a professional picture of Red Storm. Any pony artists are welcome to volunteer, and if you do, I may just insert _your_ OC. You know, just something to throw out there… Anyway, thanks for reading!

Annabeth: Hi! I am Alex's co-writer and would like to go over any references so far:

-Die Hard

-Red Baron

-The Signalman by Charles Dickens

-Rocky

Sorry for the short list, but we are using a new version of the story. There was supposed to be more, but those are for Act II. (Act I and Act II were combined in the original.) If you found all of the references, good for you. And if the hints above aren't enough, they are all in the same chapter. That's all you're getting, and if you can't find them now, you're lame. Thanks for reading! Act II will be released soon!


	13. A Dark Night

Act II

Ch XI: A Dark Night

_42 days later…_

I stood in the rain, but it didn't feel like it. I felt like I was a ghost. A bit of a queer experience. But that is not what claimed my attention. I saw an old, black stallion Pegasus in a casket with ponies all around. Some were weeping, some were comforting the weeping ones, and some merely stood silently, solemnly. I was watching a funeral concession.

Soon however, I saw that a group of five old mares made their way to the body before laying a wreath on his chest. The one in the lead closed the casket before stepping back again. Then they stood, their heads down as his casket was lowered into the ground by a large purple dragon. I was struck by the oddness of this. It seemed so familiar, yet so wrong. As I looked around, I saw many older ponies, one with a familiar set of walled-eyes. I also saw a group of three mares, one Pegasus, one unicorn, and an earth pony with a bow. I couldn't quite place it, but everypony here was so familiar…

As the casket reached the bottom of the grave, the dragon began to pile dirt over it. As all the ponies began to clear out, I made my way to the newly dug and muddy grave. I simply walked through the crowd, and nopony seemed to notice me. That was fine. When I reached the grave I jumped back, startled. The tombstone read:

_**Here lies Red Storm; A great father, husband, and friend to many. 1982-2064 May he rest, free from his mortal coil.**_

I was at my own funeral. I dropped to the ground, stunned. '_I'm… dead… I just watched my own funeral, and now I'm dead.'_ After making this realization, I looked to my left to see another grave. This one had a single wilted rose laying on it. Something made me pick myself up and move over to it to get a better look. There, on the tombstone, read:

_**Here lies Fluttershy; A loving mother, wife, and caring angel of the forest. 1983-2058 May she rest in peace at last.**_

It was Fluttershy's grave. She had died six years before me. Tears welled up in my eyes. I lay, crying on her grave. The dragon who I realized to be Spike finished burying me before leaving, a sorrowful look on his reptilian face. I lay alone in the field of tombstones and mourning. Then I heard movement behind me. I turned around, and there stood a tall, alicorn mare, as black as night. She reached out a foreleg to me before saying:

"Come with me Red Storm. It is time to leave." I wiped the tears in my eyes away before standing tall.

"No… _**NO!"**_ I roared as I lunged at her.

Then, I woke up.


	14. Feeling 20 Better

Ch XII: Feeling 20% Better

I sat up, beads of sweat running down my forehead. I looked around the room, and I quickly realized I was in Flutershy's cottage, as I had been for the last month and half. More specifically, I was in Fluttershy's bed, as she didn't have an extra bed. I stretched out my forelegs, still breathing heavily. Fluttershy wasn't in bed right now, likely making breakfast. I got out of bed and checked my wing. It looked fully healed now, all signs of it ever being broken at all gone. I stretched it out to just to be sure. It felt great. It's nice to see that my wing was able to heal in just over a month. But then again, accelerated healing is expected, being a demigod. Now perhaps, I can get around to racing Rainbow Dash… And now Pinkie Pie can throw me that party.

I have been staying under the radar for the last month and a half, so I'm excited to be able to go into town again. Not to say that my stay with Fluttershy was not pleasant. I was quite nice. Every day, I would wake up, and she would have breakfast ready. We would eat, I would clean up. I did the chores, and she would care for the animals. She would shop, and I would pay for the groceries. She would return, and we would talk, and have lunch. I would then wash the dishes while she relaxed. If she wasn't with her other friends then we would sometimes play board games. Once the sun began to go down, I would make dinner, and she would settle the animals in for the night. After we ate, I would again wash dishes while she got ready for bed. I would then shower and join her in bed (There was not any intercourse involved), and then we repeat.

I left the room, rubbing my eyes. I entered the kitchen to find Fluttershy preparing the morning meal. She spun around when she heard me approach.

"Good morning, Mr. Sleepy head. How did you sleep last night?" I finished dispelling the drowsiness from my mind before answering.

"Horrible. I had a dreadful nightmare." The mares expression became one of empathy upon hearing this.

"Do you need to talk about it?" she asked, seemingly worried. I shook my head in response. She frowned momentarily before beginning to set the table. Seeing this as a chance to test my wing, I flew across the room, scooping up the two plates before spinning around and placing them in one swift movement. A smile then crept across Fluttershy's face.

"I see that your wing is doing better. How does it feel?" I landed in my seat before folding my wings. I then answered:

"They feel marvelous. I must thank you for housing me after all this time and supporting me through this hardship. It means a lot to me." And that was no lie either. I have come to see Fluttershy as a good friend, which is quite a feat, as I have had very few _standard_ friends in my life, let alone _good_ ones.

I ate quickly, and when she finished, I washed the dishes before flying out. The wing in my mane felt wonderful, as even though I kept my sanity, being grounded for a month and a half, I longed to fly once more. I flew right out the window, not bothering to use the door. I flew straight up into the sky, and when I looked down, I saw Fluttershy peeking her head out the window that I flew out of. I smiled for a moment before flapping my wings again and picking up speed.

I felt the wind rushing through my mane, my tail whipping from air resistance. But I went faster still, pushing my wings harder and harder. I never felt so good to be in the air. I felt a tingling sensation as I reached Mach 1, breaking the sound barrier. A huge _BOOM_ sounded as I flew past that point, before going faster still. I did a loop, before turning right, and as I did, I saw Ponyville below me. The several ponies saw me and pointed, but it mattered not to me anymore. I can fly again, and thusly I didn't have to hide anymore. I flew around in circles, and then did some more loops, before finally turning around and heading back.

Upon landing back at the cottage, I found that Fluttershy stood waiting on her front lawn. She looked awfully happy to see me recovered and so high in spirits.

"Did you have a nice flight?" she asked me as I made my way over to her. I gave her an enormous foolish grin before saying:

"Yes! I had _SO_ much fun just now. I don't think you realize how _GOOD_ I feel right now!" I jumped up, doing a back-flip, to show my excitement. Suddenly, before either one of us can say anything else, we hear loud _BOOM_ before a certain blue Pegasus lands behind me, causing a spray of dirt on impact.

"Looks like somepony is feeling _better_," she said with a smirk. "I saw your little aerial performance from across town in my house, and heard it before _that_. You still game?" I cracked my neck and grinned madly before saying psychotically:

"_Ah, but of course my dear, sweet, Rainbow Dash! Let the games begin! MAY THE BEST PEGASUS WIN!"_ Both mares smiles turned into looks of terror as I spoke. Suddenly, I realized what just happened.

"Oh…_ oh my!_ Did I really just do that? I'm very, _very_ sorry about that. I don't know what just happened…" I began to rub my temple with one hoof as the two mares stood, not sure what to say next. Rainbow Dash leaned over to Fluttershy and whispered:

"You let that guy _live_ with you?" Fluttershy replied:

"He's never done that before." I stopped massaging my head and looked up at them.

"I'm standing _right here_ you realize. I can _hear_ you," I said, frowning. Both picked themselves up again. Rainbow Dash spoke first:

"Well, uh… I guess we can meet at town square for the race later… I guess. Only if you want to. You know, race," The normally brash mare sounded more like Fluttershy for a moment, before returning to normal, "I also thought you should know, I got my Wing Power Average up to 31.4! I can't wait for our race later!" I blinked. _'31.4? That's almost twice her last average. And she was already fast. 31.4 WPA is enough to reach Mach 2. I'm genuinely impressed.'_

"Alright, you've got a deal. Town square, at high noon? So the Sun won't be in our eyes while we fly." She nodded before taking off, leaving a small crater from the Gs in the process. A gust of wind proved her to be at around 15 Wing Power, just from take-off. As she broke the sound barrier flying off, I looked over to Fluttershy, who looked indifferent.

"I'm fine. Really. That was a one-time thing, so don't worry about me, ok?" She stood for a moment, pondering her next action, before giving in and breathing:

"Ok." As we both headed back inside, I heard a voice say:

"Wait! Hold on for a moment!" I spun around just in time to see a grey Pegasus fry into a nearby tree. I ran to their aid, just to watch them fall from the branches onto their face. I then noticed it was a mare. Fluttershy began to make her way over, but I gestured to her to just head inside.

As I helped the grey Pegasus to her feet, I also became aware of the fact that she wore a Mail Pony's satchel, and that she had a wonderful mane. To be honest, she had to be one of the most attractive mares I had ever seen. Then she opened her eyes. The mare was wall-eyed. '_Close, but no cigar.'_

"Oh! Hello there! Sorry about that, I sometimes have trouble flying. You know, my eyes being like this. Anyway, a spooky mare told me to give this to you." She handed me a letter from her satchel. I looked at her quizzically.

"The mare wanted to make sure that you got it. She gave me a very detailed description and everything! She even paid me triple _in advance_ for me to get this to you. So here it is. Also, I'm Ditzy Doo. I don't believe we've met. And you are?"

"Red Storm. Perhaps we should plan a meeting in the near future…" I said absent-mindedly, most of my attention on the letter. She didn't seem to notice and said:

"That sounds great! I have more letters to deliver, but I will look for you when I'm all done! Bye!" She flew away, and as I waved, I opened the letter with my teeth. Inside was a small piece of parchment. It read:

_ Hello Red Storm. It's been 12 years, has it not? I'm looking forward to seeing you again real soon.-W_

I cursed under my breath. '_She's __alive__? It's been so long… how did she even find me? No matter, I cannot avoid her now… all I can do now is wait…_' And with that, I walked back inside, letter tucked under my wing.


	15. The Bell Tolls for Me

_Author's Blathering: I have decided to make it so that each chapter is at least 1000-1500 words long, with Act Finales (10__th__ CH) coming closer to 2000-2500. Also, I have been listening to "Anna's Pony Music" playlist on youtube while I write this. Check it out, or she may shoot me. Naw, but really, check it out._

Ch XIII: The Bell Tolls for Me

I trotted back inside, and when I entered put my letter down on the coffee table. Fluttershy immediately asked:

"What happened, and who's the letter from?" I was struck at how forward she was. It was unlike her.

"It was a delivery made by Miss Doo gone wrong," I answered, "And the letter is from an old friend from my kingdom who I haven't seen in a long time." The second statement was true. However, I wasn't sure if my 'Old Friend' was here to say hello, or to drag me back home. My friend was a guard-in-training whom I took a liking to, and we quickly became good friends. Now that I think about it, seeing them again _would_ be nice.

"Oh, ok. The look on your face made it seem like something was wrong." I didn't realize I had been frowning until she mentioned.

"Sorry," I apologized, "I do that while deep in thought. Like now. Ever wonder how we can pick things up without fingers?" I asked while hefting a potted plant, still subconsciously frowning. She just looked at me sideways before shrugging.

"Ok… well… I will be with the animals if you need me." Right. The schedule. I started to dust as she left through the back. I looked at the clock. It read 9:28:45. Two hours, thirty-two minutes, and fifteen seconds until the race. Fourteen. Thirteen. I spun around, putting my back to the clock. I can't be stressed out. I need to keep my cool. Even better, I should go out and see how fast I can _really_ go, because that 31.4 average is going to be hard to beat. What's more, is that I will have to go at least 30% faster to beat her in the race, if my math is correct. The reason why I say that is because 31.4 is her average, and she will definitely exceed that at several points throughout the race.

"_TRAINING MONTOUGE GO!_" I yelled at the top of my lungs. Nothing happened. "That sucks. It always worked in the movies…"

"Is everything alright in there?' I heard Fluttershy squeak from the back room. '_Oh crap. She heard that? That's embarrassing.'_

"Yes, Fluttershy, everything is fine. I was just talking to myself." I said, blushing.

"Oh. Ok. It sounded like you were arguing." She went back outside, and I felt like a fool. Anyways, I needed to prepare myself! I finished dusting as fast as I could. Then, after I was done, I began to wash the bed sheets, and finally I had a light snack of a cupcake that happened to be in the fridge. I bit into it, and it tasted a bit funnnnyyy-

"Wake up! Wake up! Please wake up!"

I opened my eyes to see Fluttershy standing over me. She instantly relaxed when she saw my eyes open. I jumped up and looked at the time. 11:55:32.

"_SWEET LUNA ON A UNICYCLE! I'M GOING TO BE LATE FOR THE RACE!_" I yelled, horrified. I quickly calmed down and faced Fluttershy. "Quick question before I leave, why did you have a drugged cupcake in the fridge?" The mare's eyes shrank.

"That cupcake was drugged? Oh my! Pinkie Pie gave that to me! I can't begin to guess why she would ever do that…" I didn't waste any time thinking about it. I flew out the door, pumping my wings, headed for Town Square. I heard Fluttershy say she would meet me there, but just barely. I flew there as fast as I could, and when I landed, I noticed that there was a huge crowd. Rainbow Dash stood there in front of the crowd, with her trainer next to her. This was likely that "Micks" fellow she was talking about last month. He was an older stallion with a grayed mane and a cap on. He also had a towel around his neck, and his Cutie Mark was of a pair of Boxing Gloves.

"Come on girl! Yer gonna kill 'em today! Don't let 'em near ya! You're gonna eat lightning and fart thunder! You got this kid!" was some of the random encouragement he was spewing as I walked up. When the rainbow-maned Pegasus saw me, she waved him off before stepping hoof-to-hoof with me.

"Are you ready eat my _dust_?" she said to me. I replied:

"No, I think I will have some tea and biscuits while waiting for you at finish line, thank you very much," I said back, as snooty as can be. She just huffed and we stared each other down before Micks broke us up.

"Alright kids, listen up 'cause I don't like to repeat myself. You're gonna make a single lap around Ponyville; first to The Zebra's hut in the Everfree forest,-"

"Zecora's hut," someone coughed in the audience.

"Before turnin' around an' goin' past the Sweet Apple Acres' barn, and heading back here to Town Square. Finish line is there," he said, pointing to a rather hastily made finish line, "Whoever makes it back here first, wins. Any questions?" Silence. "Good. LINE IT UP!"

We lined up, side by side. The mare who was Lyra showed me a map of the course, before running back to the crowd. We stood, anticipating the starting mark…

"**GO!**"

We flew forward with such momentum that a cloud of dust rose from where we just were. I pumped my wings as hard as I could, and so did she. We were neck-in-neck, both flying at ridiculous speeds to the first checkpoint, the home of the zebra named "Zecora", which resided in the middle of the Everfree forest. I almost lost focus from the amazing feeling of having the wind blow through my mane, the rustling of my coat, and the adrenaline flowing through my veins. I focused again once I realized I was slowing down, and I heard the thunderous boom of Rainbow Dash shattering the sound barrier. I was dazed from the noise, but I pushed on until I too, broke the sound barrier. I saw the hut up ahead, and RD flying past it. I silently swore as I zoomed up to it, before turning around. She was still about a hundred feet in front of me, and so I fought to push myself further. Then it happened. I reached Mach 2. I felt the Gs very quickly begin to pile on. But I flew faster still, as we approached the orchard known as Sweet Apple Acres. I began to catch up to the Pegasus in front of me, and she may or may not have noticed this.

She went faster, hitting Mach 3. I soon followed, and in no time at all, we were passing Sweet Apple Acres on our way back to town square. However, as we began to creep into the Mach 4 zone, something began to feel… off. I didn't bother to check, as that would ruin my aerodynamics, costing me speed. However, I noticed that Rainbow Dash began to leave behind a "Tail" as she flew, showing her colours as she flew on. I thought this phenomenon was simply happening to me as well, so I put it off. We sped faster and faster, and now I was next to her again. She looked at me in surprise, and she pushed faster. Mind you, all of this happened in mere seconds. Then, something amazing happened. She erupted in a beautiful explosion of colour, before shooting ahead. A Sonic Rainboom.

I remembered tales as I foal of a Pegasus being able to fly faster than the princess, faster than _light itself._ I had thought then it was stuff of legend. I now know better. I was momentarily stunned before I pushed myself harder than ever before. '_Anything she can do, I_ _can do better._ I felt myself hit Mach 5, and something happened. I still couldn't explain how it felt, but the only word for it is _pain_. I then understood why the stories ever spoke about _one_ pony. No other pony was supposed to do it except that one.

I felt the very blood being ripped from my being, from every pore I a gruesome mockery of the Sonic Rainboom. This was a Sanguinary Rainboom. The blood exploded from my body as I hit Mach 5 and faster, spraying outward into a bloody red mist, mimicking the spectra explosion of the Sonic Rainboom. I wanted to die, then and there but I kept going. I flew faster, faster, faster, until I was just behind her. Then, just as we neared the finish line, blood loss took its toll, and I blacked out. All in forty-five seconds.


	16. The Sanguine Curse

_Authors Ramblings: Woo-hoo! We finally delve into why Red Storm is a demigod, why he's a prince, and why he hates his family! Read on…_

Ch XIV: The Sanguine Curse

I woke up in a hospital bed with a rather attractive nurse standing over me. Wow. What is up with me and checking out every mare in town? She immediately backed off and six other mares came into view. All of which were gorgeous. I was half wondering if I was dead, and in some sort of pony heaven. Then I noticed an I.V. stuck in my right foreleg, and another in my left. One had blood; the other had a clear liquid. Anesthetic… so that's why everyone looks so beautiful, I'm high as buck right now. I take a second look, and I realize that the six mares were my friends Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, and Twilight Sparkle.

"Who…who won the r-raace?" Were the first words out of my mouth. Fluttershy stepped forward, and on the mind-numbing drug, she looked like a goddess. I had to fight down the urge not to kiss her, in my drunken-like state.

"Rainbow Dash won, but you came close. You came in a tenth of a second behind her. Unconscious, and covered in your own blood. You actually started to bleed around halfway back to Town Square, but I guess you didn't notice. Once Rainbow Dash did her Sonic Rainboom though, you almost seemed to explode!" I waved her off before saying:

"I… did that on… oh what's the word?…purpose!… To… catch up? Yeah! To catch…up." I saw Pinkie Pie giggle at my slurred speech.

"He-he! He sounds _REALLY_ drugged out, and that's funny!" everypony in the room looked at her sideways, while I swatted at some non-existent stars.

"So, how are you feeling? Rainbow Dash asked, looking _very_ worried.

"_Tipsy!_ But overall ok… why is there a blood baggy in my arm?" I asked, pulling it out, "It should be in my _MOUTH."_ And with that, I stuck in my mouth before starting to suck on the hose. Everypony in the room stared, horrified (Especially Rarity) as I drank the whole thing. When I was done, I felt renewed. I yanked out the anesthetic and threw the empty blood bag on the ground.

"That was _delicious!_ Nurse! Bring me another!" The nurse wasted no time in leaving the room. Meanwhile, all six of the remaining mares stared, gawking. Even Pinkie Pie.

"Ya… ya'll just drank that there blood like _apple cider!_" said Applejack, stunned. "And yer eyes… they're _RED!"_ at that I was slightly perplexed, and it showed. Twilight floated over a mirror, not once closing her jaw, nor blinking. I looked into the mirror, and just as Applejack said, my irises had turned a blood-red colour. I laughed at this, while Rarity fainted from shock.

"That's _normal_ whenever I drink blood!" I said, the anesthetics purged from my system due to my… unique biology. "I'm not from the _SANGUINE_ family 'cause it's a cool name! We Sanguine Nobles have greatly enhanced healing when we drink blood, among augmented strength, dexterity, and speed. Unfortunately, our eyes also have a tendency to turn red." At that moment, the nurse returned with another bag. I jumped out of bed and grabbed it with my teeth. I tilted my head back and bit into it, draining the contents directly into my mouth. I spit out the perforated bag and said to her:

"Why thank you Miss…?"

"Red-Redheart. Nu-Nurse Redheart." She stuttered, terrified.

"Thank you, Miss Redheart. See me for a nice, fat, tip after I'm out, will you? Bits, of course." She just nodded her head slowly before stepping backwards back into the hall. I closed the door behind her. Then, I turned back to my friends. They seem to have calmed down a bit, but were still clearly unnerved at my _feral_ behavior, except Rarity who was still out cold and was being propped into a chair by Rainbow Dash.

"I'm sorry about that, ladies, but I must ask you to excuse my behavior. It is rather unbecoming of a Prince. Even one afflicted with the Sanguine _curse_." I emphasized this last word, which caught Twilight's attention.

"I've never heard about that," she said. I nodded, before saying:

"Of course you haven't. So allow me to _enlighten_ you." So I began my tale:

* * *

"A long time ago in a distant past, it all began during the first Nightmare Moon Crisis. Nightmare Moon needed allies to spread eternal darkness. She needed an _army_. So she left Equestria and went overseas to gather followers. There, she found a two-bit kingdom and lots of _evil_ ponies. Now these ponies were stuck in a medieval loop, and they still believed you could make it rain by slaughtering goats. But they didn't want to risk losing the favour of their gods, no, they sacrificed _ponies_ instead. So when Nightmare Moon arrived, they saw her as a _god_. Sure, you can say she technically _is_, but let's not get side-tracked here."

"So she comes along and offers the king, my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather Redmane, power beyond his comprehension if he helped her conquer the Eastern lands. So together, they brought the "Old World" as it was known to its knees, and Redman became the most powerful king in its combined history. But when he asked for his prize, she gave it to him all right. Along with a nice, fat curse."

"She 'blessed' him with a sharing of blood. He was from then on imbued with half the powers of a Celestial Noble, but at a terrible price. He essentially became an immortal, but he had to feed on the blood of other ponies if he wanted to keep his state of immortality. We quickly wound up killing all of his servants, and also went quite mad in the process. However, one day, his wife, the queen, gave birth to two foals. One was a unicorn filly, and the other a Pegasus colt. Both as black as night, with eyes as red as blood. He named the filly 'Scarlet Drop' and the colt 'Red Mist'."

The filly grew up to be a very powerful Unicorn, even more powerful by far than the most powerful in all the lands. And then the colt grew up to become the fastest flier in the entire kingdom, and was as strong as an ox. After Redmane was killed by his children, they took his throne, and formed the Sanguine Kingdom. For centuries the Sanguine Kingdom was ruled by the Sanguine Nobility, and it became an extremely prosperous kingdom. It became wealthy from trade with other nations, and was free of war, plague, or famine. But one thing remained: the blood rituals."

"The sacrifices continued after all that time, but were no longer for Nightmare Moon. Now they were directed at the mighty rulers, the Sanguine Nobility. What would happen is that monthly, a random pony, from a random town, was brought to the capitol, Redmane Keep, and slaughtered as a sacrifice to the King and his family. And before you ask Rainbow Dash, no, there was no in-breeding. The King would choose a mare to be his bride, and on their wedding day, bestow the 'gift' of the Sanguine Curse on her by feeding her a drop of his own blood. These sorts of rituals went on for centuries until it came to my sister and me."

"You see, my father, Red Wing, was unique. Unlike _his_ father, he wanted to expand, and rule the Northern Lands too. So he _changed the ritual_. He made my mother, Scarlet Glimmer, queen my _injecting her_ with his blood, instead of _feeding_ it to her as we had been doing all these years. Now something you must understand is, Red Mist and Scarlet drop were the only ponies in the family to have naturally red irises. My father, however, killed _his_ father by drinking his blood. Then, not only did _his_ irises turn red, they became cat-like _slits_. So when he injected my mother with his blood, her eyes turned to slits as well. When he had my sister and me however, we had normal irises, as always. He saw this as a sign of weakness, being a raving lunatic and all, and made us train as warriors since birth. Truth be told, my sister is several years older than me, and had a head start. But that also meant my father could _turn_ her sooner too. He fed her his blood at the age of 30, and she became _just__like__him__._ Twisted. Cruel. And _Evil_."

"I fled home because I didn't wish to go through the same ritual as my sister, and because I just needed to get away from the madness. Sure, I drank the sacrificial blood when they told me to, but I never _liked_ it. I only did it just now because pumping it into my foreleg wasn't helping. So there you go, the horrible history of my bucked-up family. Any questions?"


	17. Washing Away the Past

_Anna's Note: Just lettin' everyone know, Alex was hit by a bus… kinda sucks. He's in the hospital, and won't be out for a few weeks. So until then, I will be typing instead of him. But as Alex would say, read on:_

Ch XV: Washing Away the Past

As I finished my story, my friends around me just sat in silence, perhaps in awe or fascination. Twilight Sparkle was the first to speak up.

"Well, that's a certainly… interesting history to say the least. No wonder you hate your family so much, there is just… so much death involved." Everypony sat there… quietly. Then Pinkie Pie looked up at me. She stepped to my side before whispering:

"Hey, if you're ok now, does that mean I can throw you a party?" I nodded quietly.

"YAYY! I FINALLY GET TO THROW A PARTY! You know, it's been exactly thirty-five hours, forty-two minutes and fifty-five seconds since my last party? ITS GONNA BE GREAT!" On that note, she then proceeded to jump out a nearby pane-glass window. However, we were apparently on the fifth floor of the building. The six of us ran to the window to see if she was ok, but she was nowhere in sight.

"I almost forgot, do you want a _theme_? I almost soiled myself, hearing the pink mare behind me. I looked at everypony else in the room, and they too, wore expressions of shock and disbelief.

"Wha… ya just… out the window… but here you are!... what?" Applejack said, very confused. I preferred just to stare, trying to comprehend what sort of being stood before me.

"Fine then, _don't _give me a theme. I will come up with my own. She then causally walked out the room. All of a sudden, we all heard her singing from out the window. We went to check, and there she was, skipping down the road.

"How… peculiar. Do the laws of time and space bow to her, or simply ignore her?" I said, still rather perplexed. Everypony else just shrugged.

We exited the hospital once my eyes returned to normal, and at that point, Rarity had woken up again. I waved goodbye to all of the staff who cared for me as we left, but Nurse Redheart almost seemed traumatized however. I couldn't help but feel bad for my sadistic actions. We all headed back to town, and one by one, everypony headed back home, as at that point, the sun was beginning to go down. Halfway back to Fluttershy's cottage, I looked at her and asked:

"Do you see me as a bad pony?" She looked almost confused.

"No, why do you ask?"

"After telling you about my dark history, I would almost expect you to hate me, let alone let me back into your home." She frowned at this.

"Just because your family did evil things, doesn't mean _you_ are evil."

"I drink blood. Don't you at least find that scary?"

"Well, yes. But you can't help yourself. I understand that. If anything, it would be Redmane's fault for siding with Nightmare Moon and cursing his family in the first place." I was shocked at how aggressive Fluttershy was beginning to get around me. It seemed so unlike her. Perhaps I have tainted her with my presence. That thought was dispelled as soon as she lovingly caressed me.

"I think you are a wonderful pony, and I don't blame you for anything that may have happened in the past." I almost shed a tear at this. No pony has ever said something so sweet and heartfelt to me. Then, as she let go, I heard a voice behind me. A voice I had not heard in so long…

"It looks like you found yourself a marefriend, eh Red Storm?" I turned to face the speaker. Before me stood a unicorn mare in full silverette platemail armour. She stood leaning on a tree with the visor down, concealing her eyes, but I didn't have to see them to know her.

"Whitewash! It's good to see you after all these years! It's good to see that you're not dead, like you may have fooled us into believing. And no, this is Fluttershy. Just a friend I've made in these parts, one of many." Whitewash stepped out of the shade of the tree, and her horn glowed a grayish colour, before her armour disappeared. She stepped up to me before shaking my hoof. In the light, I could see she aged well.

She was my age, and her coat was a crème-yellow, with a brown mane and tail. Her mane and tail were both short and very well combed. Her emerald-green eyes shone bright as she gave me a cheery smile. The reason why I say she had aged well is because she hadn't lost an ounce of her complexion in the ten years since her disappearance. In fact, I would say she looked even better.

"How's life treated you Red Storm? I heard a strange stallion with a black coat and armour showed up here in Equestria, right around the same time the prince went M.I.A. overseas. I decided to see if it was you, and sure enough, here you are." She looked at Fluttershy, who wore an expression of confusion. I noticed this as well, and I said:

"I'm sorry Fluttershy, this is my friend Whitewash," I began. "She was my personal bodyguard back home, when I was still a prince. She disappeared, over ten years ago, and I thought she was dead!"

"In reality, I just got tired of hearing "Your Royal Airhead" boast all the time," Whitewash retorted. " Also, the other guards were beginning to look at me funny at that point…"

"Well, if you're a friend of Red Storm's, you are a friend of mine," Fluttershy said with a smile. "However, it is getting quite late. I think we should head back to my cottage instead of waiting here… if that's ok with you."

"That sounds nice. Let us depart!" Whitewash said. We began to walk back, with Fluttershy in the lead, but then the unicorn pulled me aside. "About Fluttershy…"

"What about her?" I interrupted, irritated.

"I always thought you to be the dominant kind, but don't you think this is a bit much? She finished with a grin. I was stunned, and threw a friendly punch at her side, but was met with hard enchanted steel, hurting my bare hoof. Upon connecting, a flicker of her armour appeared, then disappeared again.

"I can see you've gotten better with your veils," I said, caressing my hoof.

"Indeed. And _so_ much _more_!" She gave me a devious wink before trotting to catch up with Fluttershy.

When we arrived at the cottage, the three of us sat down, and Fluttershy began to prepare tea. However, Whitewash produced her own… beverage of choice.

"Is that what I think it is?" I asked, jaw hanging slack as Whitewash revealed a large glass bottle, filled with a familiar clear brown liquid.

"Indeed it is! Good, old-fashioned Scarlet Swift Whiskey! Would you like a glass?"

"Yes please! It's been too long since I had anything alcoholic, let alone _whiskey_," I said, as she floated over a pair of small cups, and poured whiskey into both. When Fluttershy returned a few moments later, she looked awfully confused.

"What are you drinking?" she asked.

"Whiskey! Whitewash had some on hand, and I haven't had some in quite a while. Would you like a glass?" I responded.

"Ok… I guess so." She sat down next to me, and Whitewash poured another glass. I handed it to her, and she took a small sip, before swallowing. Suddenly her eyes shot open.

"Ah! AH-AH! It's like drinking _FIRE! Ohmyohmyohmy!_" she ran over to the kitchen and poured herself some water and drank it quickly. I couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction.

"I see now that you must prefer your tea then?" I chuckled again before continuing, "I'm sorry, I should have told you about that. That was cruel and uncalled for." I motioned to Whitewash to put the substance away. But to my surprise, Fluttershy calmly walked back over and sat down next to me again, before finishing her glass. She flinched, and her cheeks turned rosy, but she choked it down.

"May I have another?" she finally asked. Whitewash shrugged before handing her the bottle.

"Go nuts. I've hit my limit for now." Fluttershy responded to this by pouring herself another glass and downing it quickly.

"I take back what I said. You have impressed me, but you have nothing to prove. You are aware of that… right?" She responded:

"I'm not trying to prove anything. I like this… _whiskey_, so I'm going to have more." Her voice sounded slightly slurred, but that came to no surprise as this appeared to be her first time drinking alcohol. She had absolutely no tolerance to it, and was quickly getting "snookered", as my father used to say. As she tried to pour another glass, I took the bottle from her.

"No. You've had enough. You're going to have a hangover tomorrow as it is, and I don't want you getting downright drunk. Because, unless you forgot, we have to sleep in the same _bed_." She frowned, but then picked up her tea and started to sip it. However, Whitewash perked up as I said "sleep in the same bed." I waved her off, and she settled down again. Then, out of nowhere, she started to laugh. She noticed my confusion, and pointed at Fluttershy. I looked back over to the yellow mare, and she was fast asleep, face-first on the coffee table. I couldn't suppress my laugh either, as it was a rather funny sight. I hauled Fluttershy back upstairs, but when I returned downstairs, Whitewash was deadly serious.

"You know that your father will come looking for you, and he _will_ eventually find you. It's only a matter of time."

"I know."

"He will kill everypony who stands in his way, mare, stallion, or foal."

"I _know_."

"You can't hide forever. If, no, _when_ he finds you, you are going to have to fight him, if you want to stay."

"Why are you telling me what I already know?"

"To remind you of the stakes." She then snapped her tail at the staircase leading up to Fluttershy's room, where the drunken mare lay sleeping. I nodded at this, before saying:

"Just because I am living with her, doesn't mean that I love her, you know."

"I know, but do _you_?" with that, she started for the door, and left without another word, closing the door behind her with her magic. I stood there for a moment, before realizing she left the whiskey. I picked it up, before plopping myself down on the couch. Angel hopped up and sat down next to me, before holding out a glass.

"Want some, do you? Very well." I filled his glass, and there we sat, drinking. Him from the glass, myself from the bottle, until we both fell asleep.


	18. Wakey-Wakey

_Anna's Note: Sorry about the wait… having to work sucks. I actually ran out of material, with Alex in the hospital and all… I hope you enjoy my chapter! Read on:_

Ch XVI: Wakey-Wakey

I woke up with a pounding headache. I was on the couch with Angel lying on the ground next to me, hugging the empty whiskey bottle, still fast asleep. I got up and made my way to the bathroom. I opened the door and fell in. I got back up only to see Fluttershy passed out on the toilet, with driblets of vomit still around her mouth. I cleaned her up, then the toilet, before dragging us both up back up to the bedroom. I set her down and covered her, before returning downstairs.

I rinsed my face with some cold water, which quickly brought me back again. I made my way to the kitchen, where I began to prepare breakfast as quietly as possible. I made some toast, prepared some flowers, and I also put together my father's "Wake-Up-Juice" for Fluttershy's hangover. Hot sauce, an onion, mustard seed, and a hoof-full of chilies all blended together in a mixture sure to sober you up in ten seconds flat. I slightly flinched as I blended them together, as it was unbearably loud, at least to me. When it was done, I listened to hear if Fluttershy had woken up. Nothing. I took a cup and filled it up, and drank the whole thing. Holy Luna, that is _hot_. Few seconds later, I felt like my head was ablaze, but perfectly sober. I returned to making breakfast while I continued to listen for Fluttershy.

A little while later, she came downstairs, right as I was setting the table. She was squinting and was clearly suffering dearly from her hangover. I helped her sit down, and even the squeaking of the chairs on the wood floor caused her to shudder.

"My head hurts a lot…" she began, so quiet I could have heard a butterfly land over her voice.

"I know it does, and I need you to drink this. Just drink it quickly, or I assure you, your headache will be the last of your troubles." She did as she was told, and she drank the whole glass quickly.

"Oh…my." She then ran over to the sink and began to drink straight out of the faucet while I waited at the table. I counted to ten, and by then she had gotten over her fit. When she returned to the table, she wore a face of utter scorn.

"That was a cruel joke, Red Storm."

"Is your hangover gone?" She paused, realizing the true effects of the "Wake-Up-Juice". "Y-yes it is," she stuttered.

"Thank me later. For now, let us eat." We ate our meal silently, and an oddly sober Angel joined us at the table to nibble on a carrot. Once we were done, I cleaned up the table, washed the blender, and joined Fluttershy in the living room. I sat next to her on the couch, and as I did, she said:

"Please remind me never to drink whiskey again." I simply nodded with a smile.

"You will say that every time, but you will always come back to it," I said. She frowned.

"Then don't _let_ me ever drink again." I laughed.

"If you insist m'lady! I will protect you from the devil-drink until the end of days!" I bowed down, extending my wings like I had meant to when we first met, being knightly in an obnoxious way. She continued to frown.

"Please stop making fun of me."

"You're the one who got drunk."

"There's no need to make fun of me though."

"I will keep that in mind." I sneered at her upon saying this. I was half wondering if I should stay my true to my word, or let her build up a tolerance. I decided on the latter. It would be funnier that way, and she also benefits from it… in a way.

We sat staring at each other for a minute before she got up and said:

"I need to tend to the animals." I nodded.

"I'm not going to stop you."

"Must you always be so asinine?" I thought about it.

"Hmm… very well. I will work on that." She went outside as I began to do the morning rituals. I dusted for a while, and then did the laundry, and then finally I sat around not knowing what to do next.

When Fluttershy returned, I had been finishing my three-deck house of cards, which also included a shed in the backyard. I was rather proficient at that sort of thing. Fluttershy saw it, and raised an eyebrow. I looked at her and said:

"What? I got bored." She giggled, before knocking it down. I stared at the pile of cards, before laughing. "Oh well. Everything comes crashing down in the end, eh?" We stopped laughing and looked into each other's eyes.

"You're right. It's best to savor life to the fullest," the yellow mare said, before jumping onto me. Before I could say anything, she planted a kiss on my lips, and I blinked, wondering what was going on. When I opened my eyes, everything was as it was. She stood across the room from me, still staring at me. '_That was weird.'_ I thought.

"Maybe you should get out. You've been acting unlike yourself lately." I nodded in agreement before adding:

"As have you. Perhaps I should meet with Whitewash today, and you can see your friends." She pondered it for a moment, before nodding herself. "It's settled then! We shall not see each other again until tonight! Good bye." I flew out the window almost spastically, leaving Fluttershy with what I could only guess to be a look of confusion. '_Perhaps I can council with Whitewash on this… odd daydream. And catch up too, of course!_'

'_Not a bad idea, though you should really talk to Fluttershy about that… daydream.'_

'_When did you get benevolent?'_

'_Just now. Don't get used to it.'_ Silence. I really got to stop having conversations with myself like that. I might begin to think myself mad.


	19. Why Not?

_Author's word thing: I'm back, plotholes! Hey ya'll, it's good to be back. Turns out I wasn't as badly injured as we thought, and with the help of a few bribes and a lot of pain pills, I'm back to typing again! I hope you enjoyed Anna's chapters, because she wants to do more in the future. Anyways… ONWARDS INTO THE STORY!_

Ch XVII: Why Not?

I arrived at town's square a few moments later, and decided to ask around to see where Whitewash could be staying. I felt like a fool not to have asked when I first saw her, but it's not like I can re-write the past. I asked around for a few minutes, before somepony finally told me she might be staying at the local inn. I began to fly on over, but bumped into Miss Doo in mid-air.

"Oh! Sorry about that. I didn't see you there," she said, as I got up and helped her to her hooves.

"The blame is half-mine as well. Don't feel bad. How are you, Miss Doo? I haven't seen you since you delivered that letter." Upon saying that, I had occurred to me that she wasn't wearing her Mail-Mare uniform. Perhaps she was off-duty?

"I've been doing really well! How are you feeling, after exploding?" I paused, trying to find the meaning of this statement. _'Ah, yes. The Sanguine Rainboom. Of course.'_

"Technically I didn't explode. It was more of a "cataclysmic blood donation". But I'm doing well, thank you for asking." We both stood there, awkwardly silent. Then Miss Doo spoke up:

"Hey! I've got an idea! How about we grab some dinner together?" I thought about the offer, tilting my head sideways, before saying:

"Perhaps. I have some things to do today, but I will talk to you again if my schedule changes… ok?"

"Ok," she nodded her head, before flying off. She stopped in midair, before saying;

"I will be at my home if you change your mind! It's the big yellow one across the street from the Post Office!" Then she flew off, without turning back again.

I continued along my course to the inn, finding no other reason to stop. Once I arrived, I immediately asked if a mare under the name of Whitewash had recently checked in. The mare at the registration desk said yes, and told me the room number. As I made my way to Suite 38, I chuckled. _'Just like Whitewash to find the most expensive place to stay."_ I made my way over to the door on the third floor and knocked. I wasn't surprised when a tall, muscular, unicorn stallion opened the door. I _was_ surprised when he greeted me with:

"Red Storm! Whatcha doing here?" I looked at the stallion sideways. He was slightly taller than me, with a golden mane and a grey coat. He had a Cutie Mark of a Hammer and Anvil. What caught my attention, however, was the fact that this stallion's eyes were exactly the same emerald-green hue as Whitewash's. He noticed my surprise, and laughed lightly.

"Sorry for the confusion there, Red Storm. It's me, Whitewash."

I could have sworn that my brain had erupted in sparks just then. The Stallion continued, "I am using a gender spell. Technically it's a veil, but tell that to the mare in my bed! Real enough for her! He (she?) chuckled when a mare limped up to him (her?) and leaned against his (her?) side.

The mare was pale yellow, almost whitish in colour, with a raspberry mane streaked with a lighter shade of raspberry. Her eyes were a yellow-green in colour and she bore a Cutie Mark of a rose.

"Who's this?" the mare spoke, head resting on the stallion before me. "Some friend of yours, _Anvil?_"

"Yes, in fact he is. This is Red Storm… you know, the one who raced Rainbow Dash earlier this week? He came by for a spot of tea and-"

"I will stop you there, _Anvil_. I see you're… busy, so I will take my leave." I nodded to the mare before setting off. Behind me, I hear the door close, before giggling mixed with pained screams. Sounds like _somepony_ got carried away with customizing their veil.

As I headed back outside, I felt my stomach grumble. I realized I had never had lunch. Then I remembered Miss Doo. Seeing as my schedule for the afternoon has been cleared, I should go see her now, and take her up on her offer for dinner.

I made my way skywards, because I thought finding Miss Doo's home would be easier that way. Eventually I found the small house, yellow and just across the street from the post office, just as she said. I walked up to the door and knocked three times. The door swung open and a small purple unicorn filly stood in front of me. She looked at me sideways, before half-turning and calling into the house:

"MOM! You're date's here." I couldn't help but blush at that statement. _'Her date? I didn't mean for it to come across as that…'_

The pegasus mare swung around a corner, bumping into a vase, which wobbled before steadying itself. She stood before me, smiling.

"Hi there, Red Storm! This is my daughter, Dinky Doo. Say hello, Dinky." The filly just stared at me, making me rather uncomfortable. Then, Ditzy shooed her away, before turning back to me. "Ready?" I nodded, and we set off.

We walked through town, headed towards a little restaurant that Miss Doo said had great food. As we walked, I searched my person for bits. I pulled out a hooffull of bits, about 40 or so, which caught the wall-eyed mare's attention.

"Whoa! That's a lot of bits, Red Storm! More than I make at least. Where did you get so much money?" I shrugged.

"Inheritance. So where is this place?" She pointed ahead of us to a small building that had various signs of different foods. Some were Germane, some Itallion, and to my surprise, some were from my home place, the Sanguine Kingdom! I was wholly impressed as we entered, and further so when a waiter saw us, and immediately brought us to a table. He then placed two menus in front of us before trotting away.

"This place has the largest selection of food I have ever seen!" I said, looking at the menu in awe. "And the service is very good as well," I stated, nodding at the waiter. Ditzy just sat across me, smiling wide.

"I'm glad to see you like it here. So, what are you getting? I'm gonna get muffins." I blinked. Muffins? Ok…

"I think I will get something nice from my home place. Some nice lilies with a side of truffles and sauces. I think the food is the only thing I miss about home." Ditzy frowned.

"What about your family? Don't you miss them?"

"No. They are the reason why I left."

"What did they do?"

"… Let's just drop it, alright? I would rather talk about you than my past." This brought a smile to the mares face again. We then began to talk about our interests, _her_ family, small talk in general. Then the waiter came around, and took our orders. We continued to talk for a while more, until our food was brought over. We ate, talking between mouthfuls, and having a great time.

I paid the bill in full, as a gentlecolt should, and we stepped outside. It had already grown dark, and I offered to walk her home. In fact, I was having such a good time, I forgot we could fly. So we walked back, still chatting. However, when we reached her home, she stopped at the door.

"I had a wonderful time tonight, Red Storm. You're very nice."

"Thank you, Miss Doo. I had a splendid time myself." We stood there, awkwardly at the door for several minutes. Then she turned around and unlocked the door, going in. Right as I turned to leave, she stopped me.

"Wait! Before you go…" I turned around, and was surprised when I received a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for dinner." She then hurried inside, trying to cover up her blushing, leaving me outside stunned. I quickly shook off the feeling before spreading my wings and taking off, headed back to Fluttershy's cottage.

'_Tonight was interesting. I wonder how Fluttershy's evening went.'_ When I arrived, however, it was apparent I would not be getting any such answer. All the lights were out, and I had to pick the lock with a nearby twig to enter. I wasn't sure why the door was locked if she expected me back. I entered quietly, locking the door behind me. I went upstairs to find Fluttershy asleep. I climbed in as gently as I could, and received only a slight fidget. As I settled in, the mare wrapped her forelegs around me. I wanted to resist at first, but quickly decided _'Oh, why not?,'_ and spooned her. I quickly fell asleep, and dreamt soundly that night.


	20. Passionate Psychosis

_Author's Note: Sorry for the wait. I got into a big fight with my parents and lost my computer. I'm using my father's for the weekend, so only expect one or two chapters for the next month, at the least. You guys (and gals) are most important here, and again, I am sorry._

Ch XVIII: Passionate Psychosis

I awoke with a start. I looked to my right, searching for Fluttershy. There she was, sound asleep, still resting on my side. I looked out the window. It looked to be about eight in the morning, judging by the sun's angle in the sky. I gently untangled myself from the mare (being careful not to wake her), and moved silently downstairs. I began to prepare breakfast as quiet as a mouse, not wanting to wake her. While I did this, I thought to myself:

_'I think I may have feelings for Fluttershy. Romantic feelings. I can't believe it. I just came here to start a new life, nothing more. But perhaps, love is just part of that. Maybe I HAVE found a new life… here. With her…' _I paused my thoughts while I diced some carrots_. 'No, what am I thinking? I can't possibly have a life with her. I am a wanted stallion. All I would be doing is putting her in harm's way if I were to stay. I _was_ only supposed to stay a few days. That was the plan. Then move on into Canterlot and buy a nice house, and live the rest of my days in solitude._' I breathed a heavy sigh as I plated some flowers with the carrots, before starting on some apples. '_I am just merely in denial of one simple fact. I am in __**love**__ with Fluttershy. However, I cannot stay without putting her in harm's way…_' I stopped again while setting the table.

"…Or can I?" I said aloud.

"Can you what?" I jumped, spinning around, only to find Fluttershy standing behind me, rubbing her eyes with one hoof.

"Oh nothing, Fluttershy, my dear. Just early morning rambling, happens to the best of us. Would you care for some breakfast?" She nodded and sat down in a chair I pulled out for her, not noticing how I called her "dear". She began to nibble on the meal before her, while I sat deep in thought. Apparently, I was frowning again, as she spoke up.

"Is something troubling you, Red Storm?" I looked at her, and had just then noticed how pretty she really was. Her glossy, perfect coat… Her lush, flowing, pink mane… And the glistening blue irises of her eyes… I shook my head lightly and responded:

"No, nothing's wrong, I'm just once again _deep in thought." _I didn't have the heart to discuss my true problem with her now. Maybe later… I imagined a hilariously stereotypical moment in which I could confess my love to her; in the wake of a conquered peril, under a romantic moonlit night. I chuckled for a moment, and Fluttershy caught this.

"Sorry. Just remembering a silly foal's tale." Fluttershy accepted this explanation and continued to eat. Good save. Sort of.

"Say, Fluttershy, you never got to indulge me with the tales of last night? What went on with you and the other mares?" She shrugged.

"Oh, not very much. We had a little get-together at Sugarcube Corner. What did you do last night with Whitewash?"

"Actually… I found that Whitewash was occupied with company of her own…" The yellow mare's eyes went wide.

"Oh," was all she said. I continued by saying:

"However, I ran into Miss Doo en route and we wound up having a delightful dinner together." I finished with a light-hearted smile. Fluttershy, however, met this with a blank look.

"So… you went on a date with Ditzy Doo?"

"Yes… I suppose you could call it that… why?"

"Oh, it's nothing, just… well that's nice to see that you two are getting along." I could have sworn she seemed distraught when she trailed off for a moment, but she returned to her quiet, cheery self upon finishing. "How was it?"

"Oh, it was nice. We went out to a pleasant little restaurant in town, and had a swell time. We talked about our interests, past experiences… small talk really. Then, once we were done, I paid the bill, and walked her home. When we got back she… umm" I noticed how Fluttershy was looking at me. Almost with longing. I don't think she knew she was making a face. "She gave me a kiss and I returned here. That's about it." As I wrapped up the short story, Fluttershy relaxed, but maintained a gloomy look about her. _'Is she… jealous? No, no, certainly not… is she?'_

"Something wrong, Fluttershy?" I asked, "You look troubled." I was beginning to think that Whitewash might have been onto something the other night…

"Oh… no. I'm happy that you got to go on a date," she smiled, but I didn't buy it.

"Ok… thank you. Perhaps we can find you a nice colt too… eh?" She smiled again, but with less luster. _'Perhaps Whitewash WAS right… could this squeamish, quiet, mare possibly have feelings for ME?'_

I shook off the thought as she continued to eat, nodding me off. We finished breakfast in silence. I washed the dishes, and Fluttershy left me in silence to go to her animals. I sat alone in the living room in silence, sipping a cup of tea. However, my mind was filled with thoughts.

_'Might she love me? Do I love her? How can I know? How could I be sure it's not just my imagination?'_

_ 'You can't, but it's a safe guess that though she may not love you, she certainly harbors feelings of some sort.'_

_ 'Don't be foolish. She doesn't love YOU. She simply sees you as a roommate. Nothing more.'_

_ 'And how, pray tell, how would YOU know that?'_

_ 'Because who has every truly loved you? Nopony.'_

_ 'That's not true. What about sister Scarlet Rain?'_

_ 'She abandoned you. Left you for father and mother. They probably aren't even LOOKING for you.'_

_ 'Gentlemen, please. Let us settle this rationally. Is it not possible she DOES share feelings for him, if not love him?'_

_ 'Perhaps.'_

_ 'Fat chance.'_

_ 'Then let it be said, that until further notice, Fluttershy is Red Storm's Crush.'_

_ 'Very well.'_

_ 'Good enough.'_

_ 'I can live with that.'_

I came back to as she re-entered the room again. _'My Crush. I like that thought… wait… did I just have a four-way conversation with myself?'_

"Pray tell, Fluttershy. What _are_ we going to be doing today, anyway?" She stopped, and cocked her head sideways, thinking about it. "I mean, not like I have anything planned."

"What about Ditzy Doo?" she said, frowning.

_'She has the hots for you.' _A voice said.

_'Shut it!'_ I curtly responded to the voice. I returned my attention to Fluttershy.

"I think it is safe to say that that was a friendly rendezvous." I said, and she just looked at me the same for a moment, before returning to some sort of normality. It seems like I am really having a negative influence on the yellow mare, because she is much different from when I first met her. The quiet, jumpy frightened mare is never to be seen whenever I was present, at least not for several weeks.

_'Perhaps… she feels more comfortable around you?'_

_ '…Perhaps. That _does _make sense…'_

I must stop talking to myself like that.

"Ok. I guess I can live with that. Besides, wasn't Pinkie preparing a party for tonight? Shouldn't you be preparing for that?" My heart skipped a beat.

"T-t-t-t-t-t-t-t…"

"I guess if forgot to mention that she told me to tell you last night, didn't I?" I merely continued sputtering:

"T-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-" before finishing with: "t-t-t-Tonight? I _do _need to get prepared! How many ponies will be there?"

"Lots… maybe everypony in town." I gaped for a moment before shutting my mouth.

"I must make myself presentable! How's my mane? My coat? I must shower, and brush my teeth! I must do everything I can to look my very best! This is a once-in-a-lifetime event! Not like I will ever get another "Welcome Party" ever again." As I scrambled to get myself ready, Fluttershy stood for a moment before asking:

"You can always have another "Welcome Party"… unless… you're planning to stay?" I didn't look to her for several minutes as I searched for my toothbrush. When I found it, however, I turned to her with a caring smile and replied:

"Yes, in fact, I do plan on settling here. I feel like there may be a future here for me… But for now, I must prepare for this _PARTY_." I swiftly killed the moment by running into the bathroom to prepare, leaving Fluttershy alone again.

As the sun began to creep down again, I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable in my own skin. Nopony has ever thrown me a party before, and the only celebration I ever got back home was a day of relaxation and no training… and that was on my Birthdays.

"So, are you _sure_ I look ok? I feel… incomplete."

"Red Storm, you are wearing Mithril chainmail under your suit, and even the _suit _seems a bit much. How did you find a suit at this hour, anyway?" I looked at her sideways before saying:

"Firstly, the Mithril is traditional, lightweight and incredibly strong, not to mention plain _awesome_. Secondly, one must always, _always_ suit up for big occasions. Occasions such as parties. And I got the suit from Rarity, for your information," I said, trying to sound snooty, but failing when I chuckled. She just giggled lightly, rolling her eyes.

"You _know_ you look silly, right? You're in a full suit going to a party where _nopony_ else will be wearing anything?"

"Oh well. Where _is_ the party, anyway?"

"At Sugarcube Corner, why?" I gulped.

"Very well, let us get there as soon as possible. My nerves are being tested as we speak."

We arrived at the party minutes later, and when we finally arrived, the whole building was simply bouncing. There were strobing lights coming from the windows, the _thump-thump-thump-thump_ of a bass stereo pumping. The windows rattled, and if I didn't believe that everypony in town was there, I would have suspected somepony to be calling some sort of law enforcement due to the party "Disturbing the Peace".

We trotted up to the door, where a familiar pink mare stood, wearing shades and a vest, obviously trying to be a bouncer… how queer, seeing as everypony was already inside. We neared her, and Miss Pie nodded curtly to us, before asking:

"Name?" I couldn't help but be confused.

"Pinkie, its Fluttershy and me, Red Storm, and why are you dressed like that?"

"_You_ ain't on the list." She said, making her voice gruff. "But _you _are," she said, pointing to Fluttershy. Without another word, she pushed the yellow mare inside and followed her in, before stopping at the door, turning to me.

"If you ain't on the list, you don't get in. Sorry pal, it's the rules." She then stepped inside, and locked the door. I stood there, for several minutes, utterly confused.

Out of nowhere, the door blew open, and Pinkie Pie jumped out in a hail of streamers and confetti, no longer in her bouncer outfit.

"Just kidding!" She said, laughing. "No way I would keep the stallion of the hour out of his own party! Come on in!" She stepped aside, and allowed me in. What met my eyes was spectacular and near-seizure inducing.


	21. Pony Rock

_Author's unnecessarily Italic note: Just wanted to throw this out here, I am portraying Ditzy as intelligent and social for this story. So… yeah… Read the story, Tina…_

Ch XIX: Pony Rock

I entered the dark room, only to be blinded by about twenty different coloured lights flashing and blinking in my eyes. I let my eyes adjust, and when they did, I saw that everypony in the room was staring at me. I blinked once, twice, and before I could absently blink a third time, Pinkie Pie grabbed me by the shoulder, standing on her hind legs with a glass of what appeared to be punch in her free hoof before yelling:

_"THE GUEST OF HONOUR HAS __**ARRIVED**__! NOW LETS __**REALLY**__ GET THIS PARTY __**STARTED**__!"_ A huge crowd of mares and stallions of all colours cheered, pumping their drinks in the air, including the other mares whom I had met earlier that autumn. I even caught a glance of Big Macintosh in the corner, holding up a large mug, grinning my way. Pinkie then pointed to a certain white unicorn in shades that was currently mixing some admittedly gnarly rifts, saying:

"_DJ! PUT A RECORD ON! LETS PARTY 'TILL THE SUN COMES UP, __**AND THEN SOME!**__"_ I was nearly deafened by the shouting of the pink party mare, and the blaring music didn't help. Then, as the new track began to play, the party-crazed mare turned back to me:

"I'M SO GLAD YOU MADE IT! IT WOULDN'T BE A 'WELCOME TO PONYVILLE, RED STORM' PARTY IF YOU WEREN'T HERE FOR US TO GREET, HUH?" I nodded nervously, as I scanned the rest of the room. I quickly spotted my friends, and made my way around the crowd, nodding off the greetings I received. I walked up to the mares, but one was missing… Rarity (who was formally dressed, like me)… Fluttershy… Rainbow Dash… Applejack…and Pinkie Pie, who had somehow materialized on this side of the room… Where was Twilight Sparkle? I said hello to my friends:

"Hi there, everypony, has anypony seen Twilight?" the group shrugged, except Pinkie Pie who saw something and ran over to it, leaving the area as quickly as she appeared.

"I hadn't seen her since she got here. She snagged som' punch and wandered off." Said the orange mare, shrugging. I scanned the room quickly, and soon spotted her purple coat next to a red one. She stood, chatting with Big Mac, while sipping her punch. Every few minutes they would share a light laugh before continuing to chatter. I couldn't hope to eavesdrop from here, being halfway across the room and having the music playing, backed with the noise of ponies dancing and talking. _'Perhaps I ought to leave those two alone… just in case.'_

"So… what's everypony doing?" I said, adjusting my collar.

"Not much. Just hangin' out," the cyan blue Pegasus said. "What do you think about the party that Pinkie threw you? Pretty cool, huh?" I simply nodded.

"Pray tell, Red Storm, how do you like your suit?" I looked nice and hard at the suit for the first time tonight. It was a dark-grey colour with a red undershirt and had rubies for the collar clips.

"I love it, really. However, I'm feeling rather unnerved here. Do you know where I can get something to drink, punch perhaps?"

"Please, darling, do you honestly think that there is _just_ punch here? The bar is over there," the well-dressed unicorn said, pointing to a bar area that I had somehow missed.

"Yeah! I mean, what's a party without stiff drinks?" Rainbow Dash added. I nodded in thanks, and as I walked away, I could hear the five mares chirping away with each other. I made my way to the bar, trying not to step on anypony's hooves in the dark, and sat myself down. I was surprised when a young dragon popped out from behind the counter, with a moustache and a bowtie… got to admit, the 'stache was pretty cool.

"So, what can I get for the stallion of the hour? Something lightweight," he leaned in, before winking, "or something _hard_?"

"Just a light cider, Spike. Nice mustache, by the way."

"Thanks. So, you're already drinking, huh? I take it parties aren't your thing." He said this while filling a glass cup with the cider, and I nodded.

"I don't like parties. I was excited coming here, but now I know that it isn't my style." The purple dragon raised an eyebrow as he glided the glass across the counter into my hoof flawlessly.

"You know, there are _formal_ parties, right? What you might call a ball or gala. We have those too, just not as often." I simply nodded again, and he walked away to tend to another pony. Suddenly, there is a tap on my back, and I spin around and grab the pony by the neck.

I saw a grey mare with golden wall-eyes. It was Ditzy.

"Oh my lord! I am _unfathomably_ sorry! I didn't hurt you, did I?"

I set her down, brushing her mane and patting her back as she tried to cough out a response.

"I-_*cough*_- I'm ok. What has you so jumpy?" I settled back into my barstool, sighing.

"I'm just like that whenever somepony startles me. Again, I'm sorry." She just nodded, sitting next to me, rubbing her neck. She waved over Spike and ordered an appletini, to my surprise.

"My, I would have never guessed you drink."

"You have to, being a single mom." My brow furrowed. She giggled.

"That was a joke. But really, I just like to have something… _different_ every once in a while." I shrugged as I took a long swig from my glass, before looking at it sideways. It _was_ light. It was like drinking apple juice. I shrugged again as I finished my glass and Ditzy received hers, all in relative silence, if you could ignore the blaring music.

The music was likely the worst part of the whole event… in a way. I like the music, but it was _far_ too loud. And the lights could give somepony into a seizure, not to mention the _lack_ of real lighting. Although I found myself bobbing my head to the music, I was otherwise annoyed by it.

Ditzy downed her drink and ran over to the dance floor, and I simply sat there, flagging Spike down for another round.

"Perhaps you can give me something stronger…"

"Sure. We have so much here, I almost wonder if Pinkie killed somepony for all of it." Right as he said that, Pinkie Pie jumped out of a cabinet behind him and pinned him to the counter, hissing in his ear:

"Tell _NOPONY._" He just nodded nervously before she jumped off of him, mantling the counter and running off somewhere. I was almost shocked at her behavior. Spike straightened his tie and moustache before pouring me a glass of what looked to be scotch. I took the glass and sipped it as the current song ended.

Suddenly, Vinyl Scratch put on a new record, this one a slow dance. She lowered the bass, and changed the lighting so that the room turned a velvety-pink colour. It was a piece with what appeared to be almost all strings, which was rather calming. I saw that a good dozen ponies had cleared the dance floor, making room for the couples to dance.

"This one is dedicated to the pony of the hour, Red Storm! All you colts out there, grab a filly, and have some fun! I'm talking to you, big guy." As she finished, a spotlight shined on me, dousing me in pink. I slowly got up, and made my way to the center of the room, all eyes on me. The room was quiet except for the heavenly music wafting through the air. I looked around me, looking for somepony to share the dance with. I saw Ditzy, and she smiled my way. I thought about asking her, but then I saw those aqua blue eyes behind her.

I absentmindedly made my way over to the eyes, enchanted by them. But that wasn't the only thing guiding me across the room. The pink mane, the buttermilk coat, and the overall beauty of the mare; Fluttershy. I trotted over to her, some ponies stepping out of my way, others following my gaze. The mare was not looking at me, but instead was looking at the bottom of a plastic cup, sitting at a small round table. I stopped in front of her, bathing us both in the light. She looked up at me, and her eyes went wide. I dropped to my knees and said:

"May you give me the pleasure of this dance, Fluttershy?"

"Yes," She breathed silently.

"I beg your pardon?" I asked, straining my ears.

"Yes, I would love to, Red Storm." I took her hoof in my own, and I led her back to the dance floor. We took our positions and began to dance a ball dance.

"I didn't know you knew this dance," I whispered in her ear.

"I do. Thank you," She whispered back.

"For what?"

"For choosing me." I looked into her eyes, and she smiled. I leaned in, almost touching her ear, and I responded.

"…How could I not?" She blushed, and I held her closer. I hadn't even noticed that some couples had joined us in the dance, including Big Mac and Twilight. Even if I did, I wouldn't care. I was dancing with the pony who I loved, and I was lost in the moment. Neither god nor devil could spoil this for me, and I thought I was the happiest pony in the world. However, in my love-struck trance, I let my guard fall. Because of this, I failed to notice a black unicorn mare in the corner of the room.

A mare with eyes split like those of a cat's, and eyes as red as blood.

I also failed to see this mare charging a spell, one that could kill everypony in the room. I failed to see her halt herself, and step out the door.

I failed to see the mare whom I had spent my entire foalhood with.

I failed to see my older sister, Scarlet Rain.

I stumbled out with Fluttershy at about three in the morning, and we were ecstatic, never mind the time. We chatted all the way home, about how much fun we had, about the dance, and about how embarrassing it was towards the end. At some point, we even sang karaoke together. We also were very drunk right about now.

'_Looks like I'm going to need some more Wake-Up-Juice tomorrow, but I think it was totally worth it… after all, I got to share a night of bliss with the mare who I hold such strong feelings for.'_

We stumbled inside, laughing together for no reason. We went upstairs, and fell into bed, giggling like little foals. But when the mare began to try to snuggle with me, I pushed her off, regaining some sobriety.

"No… don't try it. I don't want to do anything foolish that we may regret later. Let's just…*yawn* get some sleep…" The mare yawned soon after me, muttered something about fruitcake, and passed out soon after that. I covered her up, before wrapping myself up. As the sun began to rise, I began to fall into my dreamscape.


	22. Sleep Tight, Night Knight

Ch XX: Sleep Tight, Night Knight

I slept in relative peace until something seemed wrong. I was no longer sleeping on the soft surface Fluttershy's bed, and instead felt hard ground. I opened my eyes, and there I was, lying in a forest clearing. This was, however, no ordinary field. The grass was orange and the trees were purple with blue leaves. As I rose to my hooves and stretched, I realized I was dreaming. I looked up to a blue sky and saw dual suns, but they gave no warmth. That, I found odd as everything else was real enough, from the grass underhoof to the breeze blowing through my mane.

I gathered myself, and upon seeing if I was lucid, I was most certainly not. When I tried to fly, I found my wings to be missing. When I tested my strength by bucking a tree, I was shaken instead of knocking it down, as was my intent._ 'How ironic that in the one place that I could truly be a god, I am stranded as a weak, mortal earth pony.'_ I thought with a small chuckle as I regained my bearings. I looked around, and upon seeing a small checkered path nearby, I decided it would be best to follow it. This obviously was not going to be a fun "Do whatever the hell you want" dream. One doesn't have a sense of time in a dream, as an in-dream minute could be a month in reality, and vice versa, so I should not dally.

I trotted along the path at a reasonable pace, passing a few oddities (likely born from fractures in my psyche) such as a juggling minotaur, flying, dancing sausages, and a lobster playing a bass guitar. Very queer indeed.

Further down the road, I met a burly squirrel who was blocking the path. Conveniently, the shrubbery had grown so dense so that passage around the squirrel was impossible. As I drew near, the squirrel pointed a furry finger at me and asked with a tangy drawl not unlike Applejacks:

"Are _you_ Dirty Dan?" I blinked a few times before responding:

"Cry your pardon, but I do not understand the question. I was expecting a riddle… in this a riddle?"

"Are. You. Dirty. Dan."

"No. My name is Red Storm." Upon hearing this, the squirrel shrugged before exploding into flames. I leaped back, startled, but returned to my normal stance as the fire died down. All that remained of the squirrel was a pile ash, and I couldn't help but feel bad for it. That is, until I remembered that this is a dream, promptly stepping over the ashes to continue. As I continued on my way, the trees slowly cleared forth before disappearing entirely, cobblestone taking place of the grass. I also noticed it was growing darker. Upon searching the sky for the reason, I noticed that the once blue sky was now a dreadful crimson, filled with black clouds. _'This does not bode well,'_ I thought, as I entered what appeared to be Ponyville.

The new red lighting brought on an eerie feeling of dread to the town, and the shadows cast from the clouds danced alone the once cheery streets, causing me to look over my shoulder more than once. As I walked along, alert of movement or sound, something caught my attention. Down the street, I saw what appeared to be another pony, hopping and skipping to the tune of some unknown song. As the figure approached, I could more clearly see a bouncing pink mane. Pinkie Pie. However, upon closer inspection, I soon realized this was not the Pinkie Pie I had come to know and love(?).

This Pinkie Pie wore a red jumpsuit, with a large air canister on her back, paired with a gasmask that somehow allowed her mane to flow freely while concealing her entire face. As she skipped closer, I heard her singing a tune, but due to the mask, it came out as muffled "Mmphs". Something else I noticed was that she was being followed by… a balloon. It was in the shape of a pink unicorn, and floated idly by her shoulder. "Balloonicorn" was the only word that came to mind when I saw this… thing. I simply stared in disturbed silence as the mare hopped right up to me. She stopped, looked at me sideways, and pulled out a cupcake, which she then offered to me. I took it reluctantly, and she started to hop off again. The Balloonicorn stared at me as she left… it _stared at me._ Anyways, as soon as she and that devilish balloon were out of sight, I examined the cupcake she gave me.

It was a cyan blue with rainbow icing on top. I sniffed it, and there was something about it that seemed irresistible, yet odd. I took a bite into it, and I immediately spat it out. A red liquid seeped out of the cupcake where I bit it. _'Blood…'_ I thought with disgust as I tossed the cupcake to the side. I searched for the twisted mare who gave me the gory treat, but she was long gone, and the blood was beginning to pool around the discarded cupcake, staining its cyan blue form sanguine.

I began to trot again, now wondering if this was simply an aimless exploration of my psyche, when I heard a familiar voice sound from behind me.

"Red Storm… Wait!"

I spun around to face the owner of the voice, and about forty paces behind me stood the mare from my Funeral nightmare. Without thinking, I ran in the opposite direction of the mare at a full sprint. I kept running until I was out of the pseudo-Ponyville and into a new area of my dreamland. A rather unnerving forest with dead trees all around, but in such number that they made up for their lack of leaves with sheer volume of branches. In short, I was lost and couldn't see buck. Suddenly, a raven flew down and perched itself on a nearby branch. I felt the odd need to speak to the black bird, so I asked it:

"Strange beast, what is thy name?" It simply sat there, before cawing:

"Nevermore." Before I could comprehend its meaning, the ground disappeared, and I began to fall into oblivion. Amidst my filly-screaming, I decided to look down. I saw what appeared to be the dead forest, just miles below. Knowing I would surely die a brutal(and quite messy) death on impact, I calmed down and let myself fall. No need to die soiling myself. Then, after I straightened myself out, I noticed that an older stallion with a beard and an orange-and-purple suit was falling next to me. He was sitting at a tea table which was also falling at the same rate as us, and he was also sipping a teacup, waving for me to join him. I have dreamt some weird things, but _damn_! This tops it all. I paddled through the freefall to get to him, and sat down on the chair across from him. I then noticed we were coming no closer to hitting the ground, whilst obviously falling, so I decided it was good as time as any to answer some questions.

"Who _are_ you?" I asked the strange and almost certainly mania-induced stallion.

"Who am _I_? Who are _you_? Who are _we_? And would you like a biscuit?" He answered with a thick Trottish accent. I blinked few times, startled by how odd he really was, and watched as he ate the biscuit he had just offered me. He was more than likely a manifestation of my madness, I realized.

"Would you happen to know what's going on right now… us falling nowhere for instance?" I asked as he sipped tea floating in front of him in freefall.

"Why would _I_ have any idea what's going on, lass?" I flinched when he called me a "lass", but I let him continue. "It's _your_ head! I'm but a humble figment of your maddened mind, making _me_ mad too!" He paused to laugh before continuing. "Though I have one word of advice for you, seeing as you're here to learn something: Trust _nopony_. You're family's out for your head, and in the end, there can be _only one._ You, or your father, I mean. When you realize the fact that one of you has to die, only then will your mind begin to mend itself. In the long run however," he ran a hoof through his white mane, "That problem is just the tip of the iceberg of your many, _many_ problems… then again, why should you listen to _me_? _I'M COMPLETELY INSANE!_" He laughed again before the table disintegrated and he began to fly away. "Gotta fly, and you've got an appointment! And remember, no matter what: _DON'T LAND IN THE BROCCOLI!_" Before I could find meaning to his madness, I looked down and found that the ground was rising rapidly to meet me. _'Hello ground!'_ was all that ran through my head as I landed in a broccoli patch, and the world exploded.

I opened my eyes and found that I was back in Fluttershy's room. Something was not right, however, as when I searched the sheets for the mare, I found nothing. She could not have been up and about, as it was still nighttime. Suddenly, the door to her room exploded, and a huge, and I mean _BUCKING HUGE_ stallion stood at the doorway. He had a long, scraggly beard, and long scraggly mane. He looked like a mountain of a pony, and was an earth pony too. I thought that even my _father_ would have a hard time bringing down a pony as sturdy as this. He spoke, and I steeled myself:

"Yer a unicorn, Red Storm." Was all he said. I looked at him sideways, and realized I was still dreaming. Then everything exploded… again.

I woke up again, and this time I felt a lump lying next to me. I relaxed and laid back in bed. However, when I shifted my weight, I found that the mass next to me rolled around. I took a deep breath, and turned on the lights. What met my eyes was a horrendous sight. Lying there, next to me, was Fluttershy's head. She wore an expression of pure terror, and the blood was seeping into the white sheets, turning them a bright red. I screamed. And screamed, until my throat was raw.

I was shaken awake, and Fluttershy was leaning over me.

"Red Storm! Are you ok? You sounded terrified! You just kept screaming in your sleep… what's wrong?" I looked into her eyes, before holding her close.

"I dreamt that I had lost you. That you were dead. I… I was so worried." She smiled lightly before responding:

"It's ok now, Red Storm. I'm here. I'm alive. And nopony's going to hurt me, because I know you will protect me." I also couldn't help but smile as she said this. I was now her protector, and I _wouldn't_ let anypony hurt her. She snuggled up against my chest, and I closed my eyes once more. Then… I felt a light _'whoosh'_ of air hit my nose. My eyes flew open, and Fluttershy's were already open. She stared into my eyes, burning holes into my very soul. Then, she began to cough up blood. I lay there, shocked as blood gushed from her mouth, spattering onto my muzzle and chest. Before she collapsed, she said one thing:

_"Red Storm…"_ Then the life drained from her eyes, and they shut forever. The smell of blood reached my nostrils, and a tear formed in my eye. I saw a gaping wound in her back, blood gushing from it like a fountain, and all I thought was: _'I failed you before I could even begin to protect you… my Fluttershy…_' From the darkness behind her, I saw a new pair of eyes. Red as blood, slit like a cat's, and glowing with evil. My father stepped out of the dark, and into the light. He wore a smile across his face, and he had a look of satisfaction.

"You… killed her… _you killed her… I WILL KILL YOU FOR THIS!_" I roared as I flung myself at him. With the speed of a daemon, he sidestepped me, grabbed the back of my head, and threw me against the wall. Wood splinters showered me as I hit the hard surface face-first, and I felt my nose break. As I got to my hooves, blood streamed down my mouth and chin. I stared at Red Wing with the fury of a hundred thousand revenants from hell, and heaved with all the hate that came with it, but he simply laughed.

"Foalish child! I raised you better than that. Do you really think you stand a chance against _me_? Even here, in your dreams, I can kill you again and again, and you wouldn't even touch me." I looked at him with burning hate, but also confusion. _'Another dream? But… it's so REAL. The smells, the pain…'_ He obviously noticed.

"You don't really think this is _real_, do you? I may have not found you yet, but believe me, I would do far worse to your beloved than _that_." He motioned to the still-warm corpse of the yellow mare.

"I would rather die," I said, gritting my teeth.

"Allow me to oblige you, then." He shot forward, but before he could touch me, a blinding white light enveloped the room.

"_**ENOUGH!"**_

The image of my father was dispelled, and I found myself instead facing the mystery mare that has been following me. In the light, I could see her features much clearer. She was a dark blue, not black, alicorn dressed in a royal garb. I knew this to be the mare from my family's dark history. The Princess of the Night. The Night Mare. The Princess of Dreams. _Almighty Princess Luna_. She then spoke to me.

"We are Princess Luna, and we have been _trying_ to locate you all night." I couldn't help but blush at the fact that I had been unintentionally avoiding the Princess. "We are to guard the dreams of all in Equestria, and although there _are_ other ponies in need of our aid, we found thine dreams most distressing of all. What ails thee, Red Storm?" she paused to think about something, before adding: "And who _is_ thou, for that matter?" I stood tall, and wiped the blood from my face before responding:

"I am Red Storm, son of Red Wing, and heir to the Sanguine throne… and my ailment is of the conflicting emotions variety." I finished this statement by falling back to my knees, lowering my head. The princess' brow furrowed.

"Thou ist the descendant of Redmane?"

"Aye, that I am," I said, not looking at her.

"Why is thou _here_?" she asked accusingly, not unlike how Twilight Sparkle had on our first meeting. I looked at her with a glare.

"To get away from my _evil_ and _corrupt_ family, your highness. With all due respect, but can we not talk about this?" She nodded slowly, and I returned my gaze to the ruined floor. "I'm not here to spy, or invade. I just wanted to get away from the bloodshed and lies and find a new home." I turned to the gored body of Fluttershy. "And a new life with somepony that I care about. The problem is, that I'm afraid that my presence here may lead to her injury, or even her death." Luna simply nodded before a flash of light bust from her horn, and engulfed the room. When it subsided, the room was clear of debris and Fluttershy was gone. She then put a hoof on my shoulder and spoke:

"While these fears have fertile ground to grow upon, as I know your family and their potential, it is up to thou to overcome them. For that is _all_ these fears are. Fears. While we can make no promises, we can assure thou that if Red Wing _does_ set his hoof on Equestrian soil, our sisters and our self will personally make sure that he is expunged. However, on the subject of thine love for another… that is beyond us. Perhaps it would be better for thou to speak to our sister Cadance? Otherwise we can impart no wisdom to thy, Red Storm… we have no experience in such a field." I nodded to this, but the Princess continued.

"We can, however, shed light on your nightmare problem. Thouest mind cannot rest easy until thouest heart does! That is all we can say for now…" With that, she began to fade away. She added, with her voice echoing: "Until next time, Sanguine Prince. And perhaps on better terms." She gave a wave, and I waved back until she had faded completely. I got up, walked across the room, and collapsed onto the bed.

I awoke again, but this time I _knew_ I was truly awake. I was met with sunlight and the delightful smell of breakfast wafting through the air. And then my hangover kicked in. Nonetheless, I grinned as I walked down the stairs to see the mare I love.

_"Thouest mind cannot rest easy until thouest heart does!"_

_'I will keep that in mind, Night Mother Luna,'_ I thought as I joined Fluttershy at the table. I gave her a huge hug, which surprised her, and sat down across from her. As she handed me a cup of the dreaded "Wake-up-juice" she gasped, and said:

"Red Storm! Your nose is bleeding! Are you ok?"

_'This does not bode well…'_


	23. Act II Transition

Act II-III Transition

Well then!… It's done! Act II that is. Alas, my co-writer isn't here to help me here, so it's up to me to do the Reference Re-cap! Just to say, the re-cap is in chronological order.

-Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy-ch11… A vague reference, but anyone who has read the book or seen the show or has even seen the movie should have noticed my nod to "the meaning of life, the universe, and everything".

-Pi-ch12… I don't think explanation is needed. If you missed pi, then shame on you.

-Weird Al Yankovich-ch12… This is a reference to one of his songs about refusing opportunity with near-perfect women for little faults. Shouldn't be too hard to find.

-For Whom the Bell Tolls; by Ernest Hemingway-ch13… This one was so obvious it hurts. If you missed it, then… *sigh*

-Rocky(again)-ch13… I tried to make this one obvious, but it's understandable if you never saw the movie and missed it.

-Annie Get Your Gun-ch13… Ah, a wonderful musical. If you are unfamiliar with it, _watch it_. You may gain some class.

-Thor-ch14… The newer live-action marvel movie, not the actual mythology. An easy-to-miss ditty.

-Back to the Future: Part III-ch16… If you never saw the movies then… I just don't even know what to say.

-French Cuisine-ch17… I said I would be doing culture too, no? Very vague… unless you're French of course.

-SpongeBob Squarepants-ch18… Squidward, technically, but oh well. If you couldn't find this one, think: "Super bowl Sea critters"

-Lord of the Rings... Ah, yes. The wonderful "silvered steel."

-Napoleon Dynamite-ch19… Find the reference Tina… find it…

-Pony Rock Anthem-ch19… A nod to the gnarly brony parody of Party Rock Anthem… find it here: watch?v=rFV2riYeglA&list=PLMlXTD55ob9-KLnLHHaerLCejynb4Tufg

-"Totally Worth It" meme-ch19… It's just that. I _just_ told you everything you need to know to find it. If you can't find it now, I think you should see if you hit your head recently. No offense to those who actually _did_, like myself… wait, what?

-Alice in Wonderland-ch20… Strange, discolored plant life, dreamlike world, strange animals and delusions…? The whole bleeding chapter is a nod to the iconic story.

-Invader Zim-ch20… Come dance with us into _oblivion_!

-"Rock Lobster"-ch20… Come on, a guitar-playing lobster? There are some hard ones in this chapter, and this is not one of them.

-SpongeBob Squarepants(again)-ch20… I'M DIRTY DAN! _NO_! _I'M_ DIRTY DAN!

-The Dark Tower; by Steven King-ch20… If you missed Roland's signature apology, you have forgotten the face of your father.

-Team Fortress 2-ch20… Do you believe in magic?

-Cupcakes; by Sergeant Sprinkles-ch20… Never again… no… _NOT THE CUPCAKES!_ Find it… here… document/d/14lgUY7yfbooT5IT6miNNbPqSY_qLA9aiVMjsEpszePk/edit?hl=en#

-The Raven; by Edgar Allan Poe-ch20… Quoth the Raven: "Nevermore."

-The Elder Scrolls-ch20… SHEOGORATH, THE DAEDRIC PRINCE OF MADNESS!

-Highlander-ch20… Come on man. There are two types of people in this world. Non-highlanders, and people who run around cutting off each other's heads.

-A Wrinkle in time; by Madeleine L'Engle-ch20… Technically the last book in the series, but oh well. Broccoli. Don't land in that s***.

-The Godfather-ch20… (In raspy Italian accent) How 'bout this? You read my story, or you'll find a horse head in your bed.

Wow. Quite a few more than last time, eh? Either way, I hope you enjoyed looking for them as much as I enjoyed making them. Stay tuned for Act III! Thanks for reading, and all of your support everyone! /) Brohoof to you all, and see you next time!

(P.S: I will have my co-writer Anna doing the transitions in their entirety from now on. Don't worry, we share the same sense of humor.)


	24. Nightmare Noon

_Author's note: Hey, doubt any of you look at my bio, but my buddy zeno518 made a fanfic about what if I (as in real human me) used science-bits to turn this world into Equestria. Anna and I appear as our OCs and it's a sitcom-comedy type of thing, so give him some props and check it out. Thanks for your support, but do please read on:_

Act III

Ch XXI: Nightmare Noon

…One Week Later…

I tightened the fastenings on my steel carapace with my teeth as Whitewash did my legs. This was not my royal armour, just something I threw together for Nightmare Night. As I finished some adjustments, Whitewash handed me the matching steel helm. I slid it over my head and fastened it so that it fit snugly on my noggin. I was preparing for the local celebration of "Nightmare Night" and like my father always said: "Go big, or go home." I wasn't planning on coming back home anytime tonight.

Apparently, the point of Nightmare Night was that, during the Nightmare Moon crisis, ponies would disguise themselves at night in order to avoid Nightmare Moon, fearing she was going to eat them or some rubbish like that. After Princess Luna's imprisonment, however, it quickly became an annual tradition in which ponies dress up in (usually scary) costumes and collect candy from neighboring homes. They then give some of this candy as a mock-offering to their memorial of the Nightmare Moon crisis near the Everfree forest "in exchange for their souls." I chucked lightly at that. _'Tonight, I'm more likely going to be _giving_ my soul to the devil drink.'_ The only thing that I found intriguing was the whole "dress up in scary costumes" part, which I adopted with much gusto. Having a professional illusionist and transmuter helps. When we finished Whitewash began her three-part spell to make me into a figure of fear and darkness… or more so at least. She came up with the idea of using both transmutation and veils to make my costume… epic, for lack of a better word.

I had smithed the steel armour for her to work with for the transmutation, after all, why have veil armour that doesn't work when you can have _real_ armour that does? Anyways, Whitewash was going to use transmutation magic to re-mould my simple steel plate into a much more fearsome uniform. She was also going to use veils to change my appearance to something horrific. She never delved into what that would entail, but seeing as she was a Sanguinary Guard for twenty years of her twenty-six, I hold faith that she understands the meaning of horror better than most.

"Ok… let's do this. You're all suited up and ready, right?" the creamy yellow mare asked. I nodded. "Ok then… believe me, when we are done, it's going to be legen- wait for it…" Her horn lit up, and blasted me with blinding white magic. Funny how her magic was white… it was quite distinguishable, not to mention matched her name.

"_Wait for it_…" she said, beads of sweat appearing on her brow as she tried to be "cool" while doing her spell. This was obviously putting a huge strain on her, as her horn was now shooting sparks, and she was struggling to stand. I felt my armour shift and mold into a different shape and my body felt like a light fabric was being passed over it. Then the light subsided, and Whitewash collapsed, grinning widely.

"-dary. Here… a mirror." She floated over a mirror to me, still panting, and I saw what I momentarily thought to be a daemon from Tartarus. Then I remembered that this was a mirror.

My armor was no longer simple steel plate. It resembled Dread Armour from the myths of Dread Knights, the soldiers of death and the underworld. It shone as red as blood, and was adorned with many spikes, rivets, and simple gems. The helm now matched the armour with spikes jutting from the back of the head, and ox horns protruding from either sides of the helm. Then, saw that my face had changed drastically. Although the helm covered most of my head, my muzzle and eyes were left showing. My eyes seemed to no longer have pupils, and my golden amber eyes gleamed like gold bits in my skull, giving off an odd glow. Grinning, I also noticed that my teeth were sharper, to the point of looking like knives. Something else I noticed is that when unfurling my wings, they were leathery and pointed, much like a bat's. Then, the most shocking part of the ensemble hit me. My mane and tail were on fire, nay, were _consisted_ of fire… or so it appeared to be. Its flames flicked back and forth, mimicking a real flame, but did not burn me or give off heat. I looked like something of myth and legend… the type of thing mothers warn their foals of to eat their vegetables. I _looked_ like the Devil's scarier cousin… like… _evil incarnate_.

"Thank you so much, dear Whitewash. This is perfect," I said, noting that my voice was now much deeper. "I thank you for going the extra mile just for me. Thank you." Whitewash just blushed and waved her hoof in a nonchalant way.

"Anything for my favorite prince, hubby." She said sarcastically. "But seriously, thanks. I think it came out really well. The hardest part was definitely the transmutation. Also, the transmutation will not wear off, so that suit is like that forever, and just a word of warning, the veils will dispel themselves at dusk. I also forgot to ask, where did you get the armour from?"

"I made it with Spike. He's a surprisingly good blacksmith. You know, I'm thinking of making him an apprentice. Maybe teach him the field, because seeing as he's a dragon, he's flame retardant, has fingers, and can breathe fire. I may even teach him how to forge Bloodsteel_, if he's up to it_," I said with a hint of madness. Whitewash flinched at this, and showed noticeable concern on her face. I shook of the feeling, and returned my gaze to her.

"You ok there, big guy? You never used to do that back home," she said, her voice filled with worry.

"I'm fine. That just happens sometimes. It's no big deal, really." Whitewash looked worried, and she placed a hoof on my spiked shoulder.

"You don't _seem_ fine, and it _is_ a big deal if that sort of thing happens regularly. If you need to talk, I'm here." I brushed her off, and stood tall.

"It's ok. I'm fine." She said nothing, but then there was a knock at the door.

"Hey! What's taking so long? We don't have all night you know! Some of us actually want to enjoy tonight." Rainbow Dash. A real tom-colt if you ask me. Whitewash sighed and answered:

"Hold on! _I_ still need to get _my_ costume on!" Her horn began to glow again, but this time much less brightly. I watched as she dispelled her current veil (which was a simple chameleon veil) and her silverette armour appeared, covering her whole body.

"Do you ever take off your armour?" I asked, my voice rumbling.

"No reason to… unless there's a curious mare involved," she said with a wink. _'Right… forgot she swings that way…'_

Her horn flared once more, and her armour disappeared, and was replaced with a black lace dress which was actually quite sultry. But that paled when I saw her _body_ veil. She was slightly taller, with a paler crème coat and her mane was now a dark velvet-red and was much longer, along with being rather wild, but in an attractive way. Her eyes were also a different shape, and she was also lacking pupils. However, the only thing that remained the same was her emerald green iris. I was beginning to wonder if she _couldn't_ change her iris colour, but I realized that was silly. I felt almost enchanted by her appearance, but I shook it off when I realized why. She had a faint aura about her, and I realized she had cast a petty "Want It, Need It" spell on _herself_. She was a Succubus daemon, and she took her illusion to heart. Whitewash then nodded to the door, signaling for me to open it with a devilish grin.

I moved to the door, and as Dash pounded on it once more, I opened it quickly, to catch her off guard. But what _really_ surprised her was my elaborate costume. Her eyes dilated and her wings faltered, which were keeping her afloat. What followed was a series of thumps descending the stairs and a continuous "Whoa". That and several swears as she hit the bottom of the stairs. Once quiet returned, Whitewash picked herself up and headed downstairs. She motioned for me to hold as she passed, and I listened to her descent. I heard some "Ooohs" and some "Aaahs" and a Miss Dash exclaim something about "Damn Wing Boners". Finally, I heard Whitewash start:

"Steel yourselves, my fellow mares, for what is about to descend those stairs is no longer the Red Storm you knew. He is now the vessel of a greater blood daemon; he is now a _Dread Knight_ from the depths of _Tartarus itself!_" I took this as a signal to descend. I thought the Tartarus part was a nice touch, as most ponies forget there _is_ an Underworld, and with that, an afterlife. I slowly stepped down the stairs, as I wasn't paying any attention to the other ponies, but I was paying more attention to myself, trying to maintain an intimidating posture and trying not to trip. That would most certainly suck. However, as I reached the bottom, I realized the caution was not needed. Simply _looking_ like that lives in the Devil's closet was enough. Rainbow Dash scrambled away from me in horror as I heard a "Sweet Celestia" and a "Good Heavens". As everypony stared on in awe, I took the time to examine their costumes.

Twilight Sparkle was wearing a flowing pink gown and a matching princess's headpiece, likely the "Damsel in Distress" type of costume. I wonder who the "Knight in Shining Armor" was. Rainbow Dash was in what appeared to be a cat suit outfitted with a harness and night vision goggles. Reminded me of that Trotter Clancy fellow… Rarity was clearly a vampiress judging from her "spooky" garment, along with the fake blood and teeth. Lots of rubies too, almost too many. Fluttershy was a difficult one to guess, but I understood it momentarily. She was a Spriggan, or forest spirit, and a lovely one at that. She had dyed her coat a lime green, and her mane a grassy green. She was also wearing an ensemble of vines, leaves, and flowers… _'Very creative… and very seksy,'_ I thought. Applejack appeared to be an easterner swordpony… a samurai, if my memory serves me correctly. She wore a long, white, cloth garment along with wooden sandals and a hairpin to keep her normally long hair up in a bun. I will have to ask her why she chose such an odd costume later. But, there at the end of the line, I saw _her_. Seemingly straight from my nightmares was Pinkie Pyro as I had dubbed it. She stood there, wearing that same red jumpsuit, that _same_ air canister, and that _same, damnable gasmask_. It covered her whole head, (excluding her mane) and concealed her eyes behind unnerving tinted lenses. _'SweetjumpingbabyLunaonaunicy cle; that is the scariest bucking thing I have ever seen. And I have seen some scary stuff,'_ I thought with a shiver. The most unnerving part is that her head was tilted slightly to one side, and who knows what she could be thinking. I certainly did not, with her wearing that mask. I pushed the thought to the side as the "Spriggan" spoke up.

"You look very scary Red Storm," Fluttershy said with a barely audible murmur.

"Thank you, my dear," I said, my newly acquired demon-voice rumbling. "I will take that comment as a complement." I felt the urge to scary to dillies out of my friends with my new form, but resisted the urge, as like I said: they were my friends. I also felt bad for intimidating them in the first place, but hey, it's Nightmare Night. Thankfully, everypony else is fair game.

"Hey, everypony! I almost forgot; there's supposed to be party at the Cat's Eye Café! How about we check it out?" Rainbow Dash asked, trying to lessen the uneasy atmosphere. Pinkie Pyro jumped when Agent Dash said "Party", and kept trying to speak. Alas, to my dismay, all that was heard were muffled "Mmphs"… Sweet Luna it was horrifying. We all nodded and left the comfort of the cottage for the chill of Nightmare Night.


	25. Decaffeinated Enthusiasm

_Author's Revelations: Something occurred to me recently. Seeing as Twilight Sparkle hatched Spike when she was a young filly, doesn't that mean Spike is just a few years younger than her? Alas, ages are never confirmed in the show, but if my estimations are correct, and Twilight is indeed in her late twenties… that means Spike may be up to twenty years old. Just something interesting (if not disturbing) to think about…_

Ch XXII:

Decaffeinated Enthusiasm

We were entering Sweet Apple Acres, as Twilight said she needed to "check on something". Samurai Applejack informed me that they were heading over to check up on Big Mac, who was going to be taking care of the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Spike while we were at the party. We trotted up to the big red stallion who was currently holding down the fillies and baby dragon (one under each hoof) to try and keep them from running about. When he saw the group, he stood up. When he saw _me_, he went slack, and the quartet wriggled from his grip and ran over to us. They swamped my friends, and I watched from a distance as I took in their costumes. Big Mac was in a bulky but clearly fake suit of armour, likely filling that "Knight in Shining Armor" role I was wondering about. Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were wearing Pink, Blue, and Green costumes, respectively. Spike was wearing an odd tuxedo-ish costume, a long black wig that hung down past his eyes, and lugging a large guitar case behind him. Then the little ones spotted me.

"Wow! You're costume is _sooo_ cool!" squealed Scootaloo. "What are you? How'd you get your mane like that?"

"You're _super_ scary! You look like a monster!" said Sweetie Belle.

"I'm not sure _what_ you are, but its bucking _cool_!" said Spike. Twilight made a "Tsk-tsk" at the young dragon's profanity, but he either didn't notice, or was simply ignoring her. However, _I_ noticed that Big Mac was swooning over Succubus Whitewash, and Twilight was soon trying to pry him off of her. Applejack then bucked him upside the head to get him back to normal again. I chuckled at the sight, but nopony seemed to notice this. The Princess and Knight then retreated to the barn where they talked. I managed to eaves drop on them, but only just. I heard Twilight say: "Don't look at her," "I will be fine," and "Are you sure about it." I heard Big Mac say: "Eeyup," "Eeyup," and "Have fun, sweetum." It's official. They were sweet on each other.

"Despite the sheer awesomeness of _my_ costume, I would love to know what _your_ costumes are." My voice surprised the quartet, but they quickly gathered themselves and began. The three fillies stepped up first, and began, starting with Applebloom taking a heroic pose:

"Appleblossom!"

"Sweetie Bubbles!"

"Bitterscoot!" The two others struck similar poses before they said in harmony:

"We are the Cutiepuff Fillies! Devoted to fighting disharmony, and the FORCES. OF. EVIL!" The last sentence blew me backwards with concussive force, but I landed gracefully on my hooves and re-gained my balance. The three blushed in embarrassment, but I gave them a round of stomping nonetheless. Then spike walked up, head tilted down so that the wig covered his eyes.

"By day I am but a humble traveling El Mariachi, but by night-" Like a well-oiled machine, he threw down his guitar case, slammed his hands onto it, and it flew open, and two dartguns flew into his outstretched hands, before he fired both at me.

"-BY NIGHT, I AM EL DESPERADO!" Both darts struck me in the forehead of my helm, and he kept his stance for a moment, before relaxing. I blinked a few times, my fiery mane crackling in the night's cool breeze, before I broke out laughing. Not in a mocking way, but in a delighted way. I pulled the darts off of my helm and handed them back to him, and said:

"The lot of you got very creative, and I love your youthful enthusiasm. Especially you, Spike. Pray tell, how did you figure out such an ingenious spring-mechanism?" I asked the dragon as he replaced the dartguns into his guitar case.

"Wasn't too hard," he said, shrugging. "You taught me a lot about torques and switches when we made that armor together, so I just got a book about making clocks and made this. The dart guns too, 'cause most are made for hooves and all." I nodded in understandment and praise. Then, I asked:

"Say, while the 'big ponies' chat, how about we play?" I got cheers from the little ones as a response, and I began to chase them about making "Rwaars!" and other foalish fun things.

While the mares and Big Mac talked, we fooled around, which mainly involved me getting "gunned down" by Spike, or tackled by the Cutie Mark Crusaders. _'I love little ones. I can't wait to have my own one day.'_ By the time Twilight said it was time to go, Spike had announced that he had "Slain the mighty demon" while standing on my back triumphantly while I feigned death. The fillies were pretending to swoon over him when I jumped up and caught the flailing dragon in my mouth. I gently placed him back down, and re-grouped with my friends, while Big Mac rounded up the fillies and dragon. We waved goodbye to the quintet for the night as we made our way back into town. Big Mac said they would be departing soon, so I was not worried that the young ones would miss out on the sugary bliss that is Nightmare Night.

"So _now_ we're heading to the party?" complained an annoyed Whitewash. She was annoyed as she did not like to be kept from a party, and also because Twilight had put a paper bag over her head for until we got there. By now, everypony had realized how devious her magics were, and seeing as even Twilight couldn't reverse it, and Whitewash wouldn't, drastic measures were made.

"Yeah, we're headed there now, so quit yer moanin'. I'm still pretty annoyed that ya swooned ma brother like that."

"It was an accident! How was I supposed to know he was so weak-willed?" the succubus cried in dismay from under her bag. This set off Applejack, who made the motion to buck the emerald-eyed unicorn, but stopped herself. I trotted over to the orange earth-pony and left Whitewash to herself at the back of the group.

"Beg your pardon Applejack, but I have been meaning to ask, what _is_ your costume anyway?" The orange mare rolled her eyes before saying:

"Aw, shucks, this get-up? The Cutie Mark Crusaders made it fer me. I reckon they got their hooves on one of Twilight's foreign culture books, and thought "Samurai Applejack" had a ring to it. So here I am, and I can't help but admit I like it." I nodded in acknowledgement, before leaving Applejack and moving towards Fluttershy, who was to the right of the group.

I moved to her side, and gazed upon her momentarily. Even with a glance, I was bathed in her beauty, which was magnified even further with the aid of the combination of her makeup and the moonlight. In the light, her features were defined in an alluring way, and her stunning aqua eyes looked like shimmering pools of water, lit up by the delicate light. I looked at her for a few more moments longingly, but she then turned to me, finally noticing that I was next to her.

"Fluttershy, have I ever told you how lovely you are? Your beauty is unmatched in this world, and I feel privileged to be in your presence." I said, in a dreamy, dazed state; just loud enough for her to hear, and her only. Just then I realized the meaning to the words that had passed my lips, and before I could follow-up, she said:

"…Thank you, Red Storm. That is the nicest thing anypony has ever said to me… And just to let you know, I think you are rather handsome." She said this as a blush swept across her face, both from my admittance and hers. This much was obvious to me. I had just unintentionally taken the first step to forming a romantic relationship with the pony I loved, and I had gotten a positive response too! Happy days! She looked away, still blushing, before rushing to join her friends. My jaw hung slightly slack, and I thought: _'And handsome! She called me handsome! Things seem to be looking up!... but for how long?...'_ Then a hoof landed on my shoulder. I didn't have to look to see who it was, because I only know one pony who has the guts to touch me in such a manner.

"You should totally ask her out. She seems interested, and I think you two would look cute together," Whitewash said, which for some reason put an enormous strain on my sanity. I started to hear voices... again.

_'maim… tear… kill… feast…'_

_ 'start with the pretty one… the pegasus mare…'_

_ 'kill them all… War… kill them all…'_

I fought the urge to go along with those plans, which actually seemed appealing for a moment. The voices went on prattling as I tried my best to maintain a conversation with Whitewash.

"I didn't ask you for your opinion, _Captain_," I spat. This caused her to recoil, removing her hoof from my shoulder. "I don't suppose you remember that little conversation we had on the matter, all those nights ago? It doesn't matter if we would look _cute_ together. What _does_ matter is that should we fall in love, the hour my father comes to town, she will be the first to die, just to make a point. And don't try to tell me that 'It's not going to happen' or 'He will never find us here'; he _will_. I refuse to form a relationship with anypony here beyond a _friendship_-" I looked longingly at the mare of my dreams just twenty paces ahead of me. "-so that they survive long enough to _stay_ my friends." I look back to Whitewash, who was still wearing her paper bag. Even though I could not see her face, I could tell from her emerald eyes that she was moved from my words. I think I even saw a tear well up, but I may have been wrong. This made me fire up again.

"I'm not asking for your damned _pity_, I'm just _asking_ you to stop trying to be 'Miss Matchmaker' and leave my lovelife alone." Her eyes regained their natural fiery glow again, and she snorted:

"Very well, my _liege_. I will leave thy Highness to his own business. If you change your mind tonight, odds are you can find me plowing some drunk mare at my suite. Goodbye, _Prince_." And with that, she galloped ahead of the group, tearing off her paper bag in the process. I couldn't help but chuckle at her usage of the word "plow", despite the rather harsh verbal lashing I had just given her. _'Oh, how I envy her ability to just shrug off such things and go right back to normal afterwards… if one could call her _normal_'_

I and the remaining mares traveled onwards into town, and there we saw a large assortment of costumes, ranging from witches to astroponies, ghouls to pirates, vampires to bees. I found it quite interesting, yet odd. Most were actually foals with chaperones. As we went on our way, dozens of ponies stopped to look at us, and _stare_ at me. Though none came forward, I could tell that my costume was truly something to behold to them. We soon arrived at the Cat's Eye Café, without any problem. I looked at the café, tilting my head sideways. Something about it gave me a sense of familiarity and dread at the same time. However, this could have just been from my wandering mind. We stepped up to the door, and I motioned for everypony to halt.

"Hold up. I have an idea how to 'make an entrance'." I unfurled my leathery wings once more, and this time, I swooped them back, and with all the strength I could muster, I flapped both with force enough that the double doors flew open, bringing a gust of wind with them. I heard a number of gasps at the sudden entrance, and I used this to float in.

"Good evening everypony. Please, do not be frightened. We are simply here for the party!" I roared in my demonic voice. I saw a mare faint in the back of the room, but everypony just stood and stared. Then they cheered, pumping their hooves into the air, like the mob of overly excited and quite possibly drunk ponies they were. I took in the intoxicating amount of energy in the room, and an enormous grin spread across my face. I turned back to my friends:

"This is marvelous! Let us rejoice!" They all began to feel the infectiousness of the vibe in the room, but just as they began to jump to the music, everypony stopped dead. I followed their gaze behind me. I turned slowly, wondering what could have caused such a shock, and as I did, the gay feeling in the room quickly died too. Ponies stopped dancing, and just stared at a mare who I then spotted. She was wearing a long white lab coat that was spattered with red. She also wore a black suit that covered her whole body below the neck under the coat, and had a pair of tinted goggles paired with a surgeons mask. She was a unicorn and had a coat as black as night. Her short and angled mane was dark purple striped with a lighter violet. Then she lifted the goggles from her head, and the shock hit me too. Her eyes were as red as blood. The mask slipped from her muzzle, and hung about her neck as she spoke:

"Hello brother. It's me, your sister. Long time no see, I might add."


	26. My Sister Forever

Ch. XXIII

My Sister Forever

"Come on, brother! You can do better than that!" My sister laughed manically as she fired another volley at me. Her aim had improved with time, and now three struck me in the chest despite my areal maneuvering. I felt ribs crack as my breath was knocked out of me and I flew backwards smashing through the wall behind me, gritting my teeth as I felt liquid trickle from the back of my head. She stepped through the rubble, sneering as I tried to get to my hooves.

"And to think you were a challenge to me so long ago! I am more powerful now than you could possibly know, and you are but an insect." She laughed again, her blood-red eyes flashing in the dim light. Suddenly, I hear hooves step up next to me and a mare began to speak:

"Scarlet Rain! What do you think you are doing? I think your brother has had enough. Besides, it is time for dinner. I got you O negative, your favorite." My sister jumped with joy as I struggled to stay conscious.

"Yay! I will see you at the dinner table, _brother_. We will continue later," she said, eyeing me like a predator would their prey. The mare stepped in front of me, and I saw it was my mother, Scarlet Glimmer. Her eyes too shone red, but with care and love, not spite and bitterness like my father's and sister's.

"I'm sorry your sister treated you like that. The two of you have been training hard, and it seems every day she kills you at least once. Thank goodness that we have such good apothecaries, or you might have _actually_ died a few times."

"That would have been preferable," I groaned as my mother put a foreleg around my shoulders and began to lead me to the medical wing.

"Come now, you don't really mean that, dear. Let's get you healed up and get you fed. I made you wheat cakes." A small smile crept across my face as she said this. _'Wheat cakes… my favorite.'_ The smile soon died as we began to climb the stairs to the medical wing, which was on the third floor. The memory fades as I return to reality.

"What are _you_ doing here?" I growled at my sister as I came out of my thoughts. She just smiled and said:

"Is it so wrong for me to wonder where my little brother had flown off to?" She grabbed me with her magic and put me in a head lock, giving me a noogie. "I missed you a lot you know. Living with father without you around is just unbearable." She let me go, and I scanned her face. She seemed actually happy to see me and her voice wore no traces of deceit. This made me suspicious.

"It is a bit unnerving considering how horrible you were to me just a few months ago. Have you had a change of heart, or are you just as bitter as always?" She recoiled, surprisingly.

"Brother, I never hated you. I have always loved you. Father _forced_ me to treat you like that. He wanted you to grow up strong, not weak. So he had me abuse you to make you stronger… then again, I think _he_ hated us both. But nonetheless, I abused you because I _loved_ you, not because I hated you." She said this with all sincerity, and smiled a sisterly smile as the last words escaped her lips. I relaxed, and she jumped me.

"IT'S A TRAP!" yelled Whitewash, rather spastically. Everypony got ready for fight, but I laughed, and everypony relaxed again. My sister was wrestling with me. Here I was, wrestling on the ground with my sister just like old times. Then an annoyed voice sounded from the bar:

"Hey, are you gonna sit around and loiter, or are you gonna buy a drink?" My sister, my friends and I all looked at the owner of the voice. A rather drab looking unicorn stallion stood at the bar, with a deadpan expression. He had a grey coat and slightly darker grey mane, along with deep purple eyes. He was wearing a blue and red scarf, and had a cutie mark of a coffee cup, complete with steam lines.

"Oh, yes of course!" My sister began, replacing her mask and goggles as she stood up. "Hey, everypony! DRINKS ON ME, ALL NIGHT! LET'S PARTY!" She whipped out a coin purse and threw it over to the grey unicorn who caught it nonchalantly, but his eyes went wide as he turned it over and a good dozen Blood Rubies came tumbling out. The whole room burst out in cheers as Scarlet Rain levitated a keg out from behind the counter and began to pass around drinks. I rejoined my friends as my sister got carried around the room, and Twilight said:

"That's your sister? You made it seem like she was the spawn of the devil." I nodded and responded:

"Well, I guess it was just a bucked up joke from my father. She was never one to lie, but now that I think about it, she _is_ rather dogmatic. If father told her to kill me once a day, she would do it, no matter how much she loved me as a brother. I trust her." Twilight looked at me sideways, but I waved her off. "Come on, we are here to party! Not sit around and loiter as that chap over there stated," I said, nodding my head to the stallion at the counter who was currently being flooded by half-drunk ponies wishing to get drunker. I made my way over to the bar and slammed my hoof on the counter:

"Bartender! Give me a scotch! A backup scotch and a boiler scotch! That's a shot of scotch floating in a bigger glass of scotch. Now scotch me scotchface!" The stallion just looked at me as if I was crazy while pouring four other drinks with his magic. I just chuckled in my demonic voice before continuing:

"I'm sorry. Just give me a glass of scotch." He nodded, and poured me a glass. I sipped it as I watched my sister and Pinkie Pyro have a dance-off to the beat of a rather catchy song being put out by the DJ Vinyl Scratch. I then noticed that she was wearing a strange red duster and matching fedora. She had instead of her normal violet shades she wore ones with red, round lenses instead. She also had red trickling from her mouth, leading me to believe she was also a vampire. However, I liked her costume more than Rarity's… Vinyl looked like a real _Alucard_. Suddenly, a hoof lands on my shoulder. I resist the urge to throw the pony over the bar counter and looked at who it was. '_Ah, Miss Doo.'_ She was dressed up as the famous Daring Doo, which was likely a clever pun. Next to her, was a little sheet ghost with their horn poking through a hole in the top.

"Hello, Ditzy. How are you?" She smiled and responded:

"I'm doing pretty well. I see you really went all the way with your costume." I blushed.

"Yes… thank you. You saw my sister yes? The one who is now doing a duet with the Succubus?" She began to look at them, but I took her head and faced her back to me. "Don't look. Whitewash placed a 'Want it Need it' spell on herself in an attempt to get more tail tonight." The grey mare blushed in turn at my rather forward remark. I looked back at her daughter, Dinky.

"Why is your daughter here? Could you find nopony to watch her?" The mare shook her head and turned to the bartender, before shouting:

"Decaff! I need a drink over here! Something fruity and something spiked!" She then turned back to me. "It's not that I couldn't find anypony to watch her, she just didn't want to be watched. She is a lot like me; she enjoys a good social event as much as me. Just underage. Hey! Dinky! No beer for you!" She went running after her foal as I stepped up to the dance floor, as another familiar song began to play.

"Hey everypony! Listen up cause this one's a dozy!" The DJ began: "As it turns out, we have a surprise visitor tonight! Seeing as we had shown her such a good time last year, give a warm welcome to the Mistress of the Night herself: PRINCESS LUNA!" There were 'oohs' 'ahhs' as the Princess stepped onto the floor. Then she spoke up:

"MY BELOVED SUBJECTS, LET THE FUN TRULY BEGIN NOW, AS THE NIGHT IS YOUNG, AND YOUR PRINCESS IS HERE!" More cheering.

As the night progressed, more fun was had. Entire kegs of alcohol were passed around (at Scarlet Rain's expense), more dancing was had, and at some point, even Princess Luna got tipsy. And to think that I thought there was no such thing as alcohol in this foreign world. I walked along the bar; watching as ponies laughed, while sipping on my fifth scotch. Lights strobed and blinked and swerved across the room. The room rumbled from the beats of a song as ponies danced, and some even embraced in love. As one beam of light passed across one corner of the room, I saw a single stallion sitting alone in a corner booth, sipping on his own drink. He wore a tuxedo and bowtie and had a black smoothed out wig. He also had a small Britmane flag tucked into his breast pocket. I made my way over and sat down across from him.

"Hello there, chap," I said in a friendly manner, while startling him with my voice. "Why are you sitting here all alone while everypony else is having such a splendid time?" He just sipped his glass while looking at me in a vaguely hostile way. Then he straightened up and put on a small smile.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid we have never met. I am Doctor Hooves, or simply 'The Doctor'. And you are…?"

"Red Storm."

"Splendid meeting you, but if you excuse me, I would prefer to be left alone." I frowned.

"How about this, you look like an intellectual. Ask me a set of three riddles, and if I answer true, you tell me your problem. If I fail, then I will leave you alone." He took a moment to think about it, but then said:

"Very well. I accept your challenge. Just give me a moment to think of a good riddle…" He sat there for several moments before saying:

"I am as light as a feather, yet no living being can hold me for long… what am I?" I paused to think. That makes no sense. Seconds passed and I forgot to breathe, and as I was about to give up already when I sighed. _'Brilliant.'_

"One's breath." The Doctor did not flinch, nor show any sign of hesitation as he flung the next riddle at me.

"I am emeralds and diamonds, lost by the moon. I am found by the sun and picked up soon." Another pause. This time I had no idea where to even start on this one. I sat there, thinking, and watched as the lights danced across the table. Blue and green mingled with the glass of my drink, making a rather pretty display. I sighed again. Then, something about the lights caught my eye. The green and blue lights were not reflected off of the glass itself, but the condensation of the drink. I looked The Doctor in the eyes and said:

"Dew."

"You are better than I thought. Last one: If you break me, I will not stop working. If you can touch me, my work is done. If you lose me, you must find me with a ring soon after. What am-"

"The heart." The Doctor went wide-eyed at my instantaneous response. I chuckled.

"Very good riddles, my friend. Almost got me with the first two, but the last one was far too easy. I knew it well, from my days as a soldier. I knew much heartbreak, death, and love back then… but those are tales for other ears and other times. Not now. Tell me, what ails you on this fine night?"

He sighed as I had moments ago, and said after downing the rest of his drink:

"There is a mare over there who I find rather charming, but I haven't got the courage to ask her out." I turned to where he was pointing, and there I saw Miss Doo with her daughter on a leash. Interesting how he found her alluring, but that is not of my concern. I chuckled lightly before picking him up and pulling him out of the booth. He squirmed and kicked as I dragged him over to the bar, and Ditzy noticed this.

"Hi, there Ditzy. I have somepony who wants to meet you." I plopped The Doctor in the chair next to Ditzy and whispered in his ear:

"Just talk to her, it'll work out fine." I then walked away leaving them alone at the bar. However, I kept close enough to eavesdrop on them.

"Ah… yes… hello. I am The Doctor. Doctor Hooves, actually. How are you... er, I mean, what is your name?" The grey mare giggled.

"I'm Ditzy. Nice to meet you Doctor." The brown stallion nearly fainted, but kept his composure. They continued to chat for about ten more minutes before they left the party together, with Dinky in tow.

"Ah, young love. How sweet, wouldn't you say?" I jumped as my sister breathed this into my ear. Then I re-settled myself and turned to her. "You make quite the wingcolt, if I do say so myself."

"Thanks, but what's wrong? Why aren't you partying?" she shrugged. "The captain is hogging the dance floor as usual, and the Pink One is hogging all the liquor. Anyway, I _did_ have to talk to you about father." My cheery expression died instantly.

"What did you have in mind?"

"Father is mobilizing all of his forces, even pulling out of some occupied regions. He is intent on finding his War."

"Don't call me that."

"Either way, it's what you are; and you can't ignore that fact. He actually sent me in advance to try and find you so he wouldn't have to come out here himself. I won't tell him about you being here, but that won't stop him from finding out. You have a year, give or take before he finds out. Spend that time wisely, brother." She began to leave, but stopped and turned back to me.

"While you're at it, perhaps you should take your own advice and just ask out Fluttershy." My jaw dropped and my eye twitched, but she just walked out of the café smiling. Then, I decided she was right. I stepped over to Fluttershy (who was sitting in her own booth alone, and sat down next to her. As she was about to say hello, I took her hoof in mine, and looked her straight in her aqua blue eyes. I said as softly as I could with my demon voice:

"Fluttershy, will you be my special somepony?" She looked into my eyes, and I looked into hers. She teared up and hugged me.

"Yes! Yes! I would love to be your special somepony! Thank you Red Storm… We sat there, in embrace. That is, until Whitewash popped up next to us, drink in hand.

"Hey you lovebirds! Come on! The night is still young, and besides, Luna is about to do a keg stand!" I broke the embrace to glare at her. She shrugged and trotted away. I turned back to Fluttershy, and she smiled meekly, overcome with embarrassment.

"I would actually like to see that," she said quietly. I leaped out of my seat, and picked her up, giving her just enough time to recover her drink and started for the bar area.

"Come, darling! Let us watch the Princess of the night get totally wasted before frolicking through the night!"

"Yay!" Then, I blacked out again.


	27. All I want for Hearths Warming is

_Note de l'auteur: I want to apologize for such a short chapter, but I won't. I will, however, state that the next will be far longer. And that mania I mentioned last chapter? That is coming… or perhaps schizophrenia is more accurate… correct me later. For now, READ! _

Ch. XXIV:

All I want for Hearths Warming…

I stood outside in the snow sipping on my cup of hot chocolate as I inhaled deeply, taking in the scents of winter. I loved winter. I swear I was a penguin in a past life, as I was almost entirely immune to the bite of the cold, needing only a scarf about my neck to keep my warm in below-freezing weather. I surveyed the falling flakes and the ice clinging to the trees when suddenly a certain mare jumped onto my back from behind. I laughed as she gave me a peck on the cheek and I tried not to spill my drink.

"You're up rather early, Red Storm. Is there something wrong?"

"Not at all, my sweet. I was simply enjoying the morn'. If anything, I would have to ask you why _you_ are up so early. It's just about six In the morning."

"I rolled over in bed, and you weren't there. So when I got up, I found you out here. Anyway, isn't it a little too cold to be standing around outside this early?"

"Come now love, I'm wearing my scarf. Besides, it's just a little brisk out. I think it is hardly cold enough for me to fall ill. However, I do see your point." I trotted back inside with the yellow mare still clinging to my back. As I carried her inside, I kicked the door shut behind me, and I let her down. She nipped me on the ear playfully as she made her way over to the kitchen for breakfast. I sat down on the couch, where Angel sat. As I sipped my hot coco, he drank from a flask, and was wearing a blue bathrobe. He shot me a dirty look, before looking off again. He had gotten more or less used to me over the months, but he obviously did not like the idea of the two of us dating. I about fifteen minutes later, the mare waved us into the kitchen, and a grand feast was spread before me. Carrots, apples, flowers, and wheatcakes. Certainly more than what we usually ate, but I was not complaining. What was fun about it is that the wheatcakes had little smilies on them, made of chocolate chips. I looked at the mare happily, and she wore a small smile, along with a cute flower apron. I helped her take it off, before seating her. I sat down across from her and Angel next to her. As we began to eat, I couldn't help but chuckle in my mind. _'I have a beautiful, caring, delicate, and simply amazing marefriend. I don't think I could be happier.'_

We finished the meal in mere minutes, as we didn't talk this time around. I was thinking about what I should get Fluttershy for Hearth's Warming, but other things clouded my mind as well. The voices were giving me disturbing if not stupid suggestions.

_'Give her the heart of one of her enemies.'_

_ 'Give her your ear in a box with a pretty pink bow.'_

_ 'Get that filly a hydra head. Fillies love hydra heads.'_

Like I said. Disturbing if not stupid.

I washed dishes as Fluttershy went out to check up on the animals. I looked back on the past month and a half blissfully, and recalled how it has been the happiest time of my life. Before we started dating, we would only normally spend time together at home; otherwise she would leave me alone with Angel and visit friends or run errands. Now that we were an item, we could do just about anything together. We would visit friends together, run errands together, take leisurely flights or walks, and even have a weekly romantic date. I will never admit it due to pride, but in order to make ends meet, I have been working at a mine in the mountains for some extra bits every other day. I thought it would be an excellent way to keep in shape, help the local area, and use my skills for something other than killing ponies.

As I finished washing the dishes, Fluttershy returned from outside shivering.

"I don't know how you can stand being outside in that cold for more than a minute!" she squeaked as I got a blanket from the couch and wrapped her in it. "At least my little animal friends are warm in their trees and burrows. But I'm _sooo_ cold." She gave me a light smile followed by a shiver as I gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"Come love, let's get you to bed for some rest. I have some business to attend to, and I don't want you to get sick." She nodded as I led her upstairs, tucking her into bed before returning downstairs. Before I left, I moved to the closet near the door, and I removed a box from within. Inside was my suit Royal Sanguinary Armor, which I began to put on. I had not worn the armour in months, not since my original arrival into Equestria; however the armour had not a speck of dust on it, and shone sparkling gold as it always had. I donned the grey mail before the gold plate, and shouldered the now-alien weight.

The armour was forged from Adamant, a nigh-indestructible metal found only in my homeland, tempered by master Artificers with dragon fire, before being gold plated and enchanted for further protection. It was, however, incredibly light, and fitted especially for me, making it not unlike an impenetrable second hide. Something that always baffled me was the lack of a helmet. Anypony could easily attack the head, ignoring the rest of the heavily armoured body, but I suppose that is what the bright red droplet-shaped Blood Ruby and gold plating was for; to draw attacks to the torso rather than the head. Still, I couldn't help but think that whoever thought excluding a helmet from the set was a good idea was an idiot, but that was merely my opinion. As I finished tightening some straps, I thought about the letter I had received a few days ago.

_"Meet me in the Everfree forest at 5:30 __sharp__! Saturday! VERY IMPORTANT!"_

I only knew one pony who wrote the way that letter was written was my sister, Scarlet Rain. We were on much better terms since Nightmare Night, but I made it clear that we should keep communication scarce, in case my father were to trace the letters. If she sent me a letter, it must be pretty buckin' important.

I trotted outside and headed for the Everfree forest. The snow crunched beneath my boots, and I observed the snowflakes fall. As I continued along the path, the combination of the falling snow and the cool air made it easy for my mind to wander.

I recalled all of the romances that have occurred in the short span of time since Nightmare night. Twilight Sparkle had admitted to dating Big Mac; a revelation that was news to everypony but Spike and myself, though we didn't say so. Ditzy and Doctor Hooves are also getting along splendidly, and Ditzy even told me that they are also an official couple. Apparently, Dinky has taken to the Doctor fondly, and I can't help but admit that I am happy for Ditzy having found a steady relationship.

I made my way into the dark forest, and after trotting along for about five minutes, and then I spotted her about a hundred paces ahead. She was leaning against a tree, and was standing in its shade. She also wore her armour, and although it was purple instead of gold, it was otherwise identical. I trotted closer, but stopped at about twenty feet when I could see her face clearly. It was covered in cuts and bruises, with fur missing in spots. I spread my wings to attempt to fly away, but she reacted faster than I could make lift-off, grabbing me in a telekinesis spell. She straightened up and moved towards me. I could now see that one of her eyes was also screwed shut, as if she was in extreme pain, but I suspected the true reason was far more sinister.

"Hello, brother. It's been while, hasn't it?" I glared at her in silence, and she shrugged, losing what little animosity towards me. "Let me apologize to begin with, and let me apologize for what I'm about to say. I think you have already realized that this is a trap, ordered by your father who had found out about you, tortured me, and had me come for you. However, while he still doesn't know where you are, for he did not ask; he _does_ want to send a message. He wants you to suffer, and I know just how to do it. I'm gonna force you to watch as your world burns and your friends die. Best part is?" Her look of satisfaction turned to one of pure madness. "_You're_ gonna do it for me." I simply scoffed at the threat.

"Oh, really? And how do you plan on doing that?"

"Like this." She tapped me on the forehead with her horn, and there was a huge flash of orange light, and I suddenly understood. I felt my muscles tense up, my jaws clench, and my very irises shrink. Then, came the flood of voices.

_'Yes… embrace us… let the hate flow through you.'_

_ 'Let blood flow down every street like rivers, let every soul scream and perish in fire.'_

_ 'Maim. Kill. Burn. MAIM. KILL. BURN.'_

_ 'Let none suffer to live. Go forth, and KILL.'_

_'Death to the weak! REJOICE IN THE SLAUGHTER TO COME!_'

My sister let me down, and now I was frothing at the mouth. My mane was wild, and my tail was twitching. Looking around, I realized we were in Ponyville town square, with a crowd forming. I then looked up to my sister, in a crazed way as she leaned in and whispered in my ear:

"_Search and destroy_, servant. Any force which opposes you is to be _crushed underhoof._ All obstacles are to be reduced to dust and ash. Search. And. Destroy." She then disappeared in another flash of orange light, leaving me alone, twitching; surrounded by countless ponies. I looked straight ahead and saw a familiar face that I knew from somewhere before. However, in my maddened mind, all she looked like was a nice, tasty, flesh sack of blood and marrow and etc. I could only watch in horror in my own mind as I lunged forward at the mare, teeth bared. Screams.

_Author's Afterthought: Whoops. Almost forgot. I got a brony on youtube who requested an ad in my story, so here it is._

user/GmanGavin1/featured_... give him a visit, otherwise Whitewash will be under your bed. Pedopony._


	28. is Miy sAniti

_Author's Warning: Beware! The following chapter is not mandatory to read. This chapter contains a whole lot of ponies dying, blood, gore, and other things under the category of "Unnerving". If you are squeamish on the subject of blood, gore, swearing, and/or dark undertones, back out now and wait for the next chapter. You have been warned, so don't b**** about it if you can't take it. __**Bad S*** Meter level: Cupcakes**_

Ch XXV:

…is Miy sAniti

I toppled the white mare as others went running, few standing in awe as Red Storm, the good natured, polite, care-free stallion they had known was trying to kill them. I looked down at the mare, not knowing what I would do next. It was Nurse Redheart. Tears were welling up in her eyes, and I just licked my lips. I said in her ear:

"You know, I never got to repay you for saving my life. So I will save yours." I slowly rose, and as she got to her hooves, my whole body stiffened with malicious fury.

"JUST KIDDING!" I grabbed her throat in my teeth and snapped my neck back, breaking hers. I bit down harder and felt vertebrae shatter as I tugged on her limp body. I placed one hoof on her shoulders and tugged again, this time ripping her head and her entire spinal column out of her body in a gruesome ballet of blood and sinew. I drank from her body for a few moments before turning my attention to the remainder of the crowd. My coat was slicked red as I clung to the pendulum of a head in my mouth and stared at them. Finally, I spat it out and whispered in their general direction:

"This is the _part_ where you run away." They took the hint and turned, running and screaming. I laughed as I licked my lips and unfurled my wings, taking flight. I flew forwards and quickly caught up to another pegasus stallion who was too shell-shocked to remember to fly away, instead using his slow, weak legs to try and escape. _'Ha. Desperation makes people stupid.'_ I grabbed him by the wings and pulled him up into the air as he kicked franticly. I bit into his neck, spraying my muzzle with warm, steamy blood as I tore outwards leaving a gaping hole where his jugular once was. I dropped the bleeding pony into the water fountain as I made another pass.

This one, a grey mare with a black mane squirmed as I grabbed her from said mane and carried her up atop town hall. There, she began to cry as I pinned her down.

"Please, _please,_ oh sweet _Celestia_ don't kill me!" she bawled. I leaned in and let the blood drip from my lips onto her forehead as I said:

"You are the cellist, no? Well, here's some news for you: There is no Celestia here. _Just me._" I then proceeded to stomp down on her forelegs, smashing them both beyond repair. "_**AND I AM A CRUEL AND UNFORGIVING GOD!**_" She wailed in agony as I flung her from the top of the building and watched, laughing manically as she dropped to the ground, even going as far as saying "Ouch" as she hit the ground with a sickening _*Smack*_. Well, not sickening for _me_, but you get the point.

I watched as a certain white unicorn ran up to aid her marefriend, but it was useless. The grey mare called Octavia was already dead, and I was already descending upon my wings of death. The unicorn stood tall, tears flowing from behind her purple shades.

"You bastard. How could you do this to us? Why? Why cause this much pain to your friends?" I stopped, and I looked at her, and I thought. That was a rather good question, but the answer came as I saw the reflection of my red eyes in her shades. A demented smile spread across my face, and with unimaginable speed, I sped forward and punched a hole straight through her chest, blood spraying onto the broken body of the grey mare behind her. She stood, gaping, blood dripping from her lips as I whispered softly:

"Because it's _fun_." I then gripped her left with the other hoof, and withdrew my hoof from her chest. With lightening speed, I grabbed her other shoulder and I promptly tore her in half from neck to tail. Blood was now running down the street in a gruesome yet gorgeous stream and the water fountain in town square ran red with blood, having been dyed sanguine from the body I had dumped into it. I stood, and inhaled the carnage I had brought; all the while I dreamt what more I should bring in the next several minutes. Suddenly, an enormous force collided with me, sending me flying straight through a building. The building then collapsed on top of me. As I climbed out of the debris, I spotted my new challenger. There, she stood, magenta eyes burning with fury and her cyan feathers rustling.

"Red Storm! What the hay are you doing? Killing innocent ponies is _not_ cool man!" I grinned a devilish grin before responding:

"Is that so, Miss Dash? Pray tell, you have a Rainbow District in Cloudsdale, no?"

"What about it?"

"And you are the weather team leader, no?"

"What are you getting at?"

"You say murder is wrong, yet still, one question floats about: Where do you get your Spectra from? _We_ in the Sanguine Kingdom only know one way to get Spectra, and if your system is anything like ours…" She didn't let me finish, instead flying straight at me. I met her with my own charge.

I smashed into the mare with all the force I could muster, but to my despair, the same protective magics that kept her safe from the Sonic Rainboom aided her even now, as she shrugged off my blows as well as I did hers. And I was wearing an aegis. Soon, however, I was fed up with the petty games, as I was getting hungry again. I leaned back, and through a very old and very dangerous technique, used the added weight of my body, my total wingpower, and my raw strength to deliver a blow to her that would have decimated a mountain. She flew backwards at insane speeds, smashing through three buildings in a row, before she lay still in the rubble of the third building. I turned my attention back to the fleeing ponies. Some had gotten wise and were flying away. I would catch them later. I flew forwards towards the nearest group of ponies, and there in the middle of them I saw a particularly delectable family of three. An earth pony stallion, a Pegasus mare, and a unicorn foal, all running away together. I tackled the stallion first, and the Mare shouted something, but I didn't hear it. The stallion told them to run, and to leave him behind. The mare turned quickly and kept going. I looked at my prey who then punched me in the face. This surprised me, and I retaliated by digging my teeth into his throat. He continued to batter me until he lay still and lifeless. I drank my fill before standing up. Then, I examined the body. It was a clean kill, but something was wrong. Then I realized who it was. I had just brutally murdered and fed from The Doctor. _'He… oh my…'_ I shook the strange feeling of guilt away as an enormous force threw me off-balance. I spun around to my assailant, and came face-to-face with an infuriated Big Macintosh.

He charged again, and smashed into me, cracking my carapace. _'Holy Nightmare Moon! He is no ordinary stallion!'_ I countered his attack by catching him in the mouth with a sucker-punch right. He spit out a tooth and came at me again. He threw a right-hook punch and I caught it. He threw a left-hook punch and I caught that one too. We stood there, trying to overpower each other, and even in my augmented state, he was forcing me to my knees. I tapped into my inner strength, using up much of my fed blood to increase my muscle mass, and evening the odds. As strong as he was, he was no match for Sanguine Blood Magic. I forced him to his knees before snapping the ankles in his forelegs. He roared in pain, but kept fighting back, which brought out the sadist in me. I kicked his left hind leg, breaking it with small splinters of bone flying out, before tackling him. I them proceeded to break the last of his legs, all of his ribs, and his jaw; all the while he screamed in agony. Finally when I felt like I had enough fun, I snapped his neck and rose, licking the blood off of my forelegs. Suddenly, a burst of magic struck my side. I lost my balance, but regained it quickly, doing a 90 degree quick-turn on one hoof. There, was Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rarity.

"Well, well! The gang is all here... wait… where is Fluttershy?"

"We told her ta hide, in case _she's_ the target of yer rampage. Besides, she ain't no good in a fight." I shrugged in agreement before re-focusing my attention. Then, the orange farm mare saw the broken form of her brother behind me, and she flinched.

"So then, fillies, shall we dance the _Danza Macabra?_ I am anxious to see how well the lot of you are in a fight." They just stood there, and I held my ground, with The Doctor in a pool of his own blood between us. Suddenly, Rarity took the first shot, (a simple concussion spell-bolt) and I deftly avoided it. I moved at speeds faster than she could track, before I tackled her away from her friends. The moment she hit the ground, I reared back, and I struck her on the horn with enough force to destroy a two-ton boulder. Her horn shattered into sparkling and flickering fragments, and she screamed a blood-curdling scream before feinting. I picked her up, and threw her at her friends. _'My… friends…'_ I shook the feeling of doubt away again as Pinkie Pie shouldered the unicorn.

"Pinkie, take Rarity somewhere safe. Applejack and I will handle this," explained Twilight as calmly as she could. Her friends were dying around her, and the only way she could end it was to kill me, a friend in my own right. Ultimatums, ultimatums… As much as I would like to say that I enjoyed the bloodshed, seeing my friend like that brought me anguish. However, that feeling too was overcome with malice as when Pinkie turned to leave; I sped past Twilight and Applejack, headed straight for the retreating pony. She turned just in time for me to glide an outstretched wing across her neck. I stopped about five steps ahead of her, with the dust trail slowly rising behind me. I then turned to see a look of horror and agony in the Pink mare's face, before suddenly, her head rolled off her neck. It fell next to her body, and there her body stood, in mid-step with an unconscious Rarity on its back. Blood was squirting from the open neck like a water fountain, and I had to resist leaning in to take a drink. Finally, after what felt like hours, the headless body fell to the ground, with Rarity rolling onto the cobblestone street.

Applejack and Twilight were absolutely in shock of what just happened. I then began to nonchalantly step towards Rarity, who was beginning to soak in the Pinkie-blood, staining her white coat red. I stepped up to the unconscious body and raised a hoof above her head. Twilight realized what I was about to do, but far too late.

"_**RED STORM, N-**_"

_*Crunch*_

The purple mare fell to her knees. I flicked the brains and skull off of my tread as Applejack growled, brimming with a fury so powerful that I was actually _intimidated_.

"You…**you… **_**YOU SONOVA BITCH! YA KILLED THEM! YA KILLED THEM BOTH! YA KILLED THEM ALL! AND THEN Y'ALL GO AND ACT LIKE NOTHIN' EVEN HAPPENED! I'M GONNA KILL YA! I'M GONNA KILL YA UNTIL THERE AIN'T NOTHIN' LEFT TA KILL! I'M GONNA-**_"

"Applejack… stop." The purple mare's words surprised even me. "There's nothing left for us to do. We've lost. Red Storm has killed Rarity _and_ Pinkie. We can't use the Elements of Harmony anymore. We are _not_ the Elements of Harmony anymore. Even if just one of us were to die, the bond is broken, and it cannot be mended. Just… stop."

This surprised me even more. Elements of harmony? These mares were the Elements? Ah, but that would make sense now. Either way, she spoke the truth. There was no point in fighting. Even at full strength, they would have been no match for me at my present ability. Suddenly, a voice rang out from behind me:

"Hey, _plothole_! I'm not done with you!" We all looked up at the owner of the voice, and behind me stood Rainbow Dash. One of her wings was obviously broken, and she appeared to have a skull fracture, but she held herself as tall as ever; once she saw the state of her friends, however, the spirit in her eyes died. She fell to her knees, suddenly overcome from injuries far worse than I could see, and Applejack raced to her side. The orange mare carried the wounded pegasus back to the other side of the street. Glaring at me with pure, unceasing hate all the while. I nodded in acknowledgement, and let them pass. The orange mare continued onwards off to the farm, past the remains of her brother, and out of sight. I trotted slowly up to the purple mare who was now sitting in a pool of blood, dribbling from the remains of her friends. She looked up to me, tears flowing.

"I… I failed everypony. Please, just kill me." I obliged without thought, crushing her skull between two of my hooves. Her body fell down onto the street with a _*thump*_, and I walk down the street. By now, everypony had fled the town, and so with nothing more to do, I retrieved a lamp from a nearby home, and proceeded to light buildings aflame. While I was starting a fire in Sugarcube corner, a very familiar voice spoke up behind me:

"What have you done now?"

I turned slowly, as the voice filled me with dread. A dread that numbed my feeling of madness, down to lucidity and near-sanity. I dropped the lamp as I stepped up to the mare behind me. The mare who saved me, took me in, comforted me and gave me the benefit of the doubt. Fluttershy. It struck me just then that if Twilight's words were true about being the elements of harmony, Fluttershy would without a doubt be the Element of Kindness. Having lived in a medieval castle for my whole life with nothing to do but train and read, I had extensive knowledge on the forces that brought the downfall of Nightmare Moon, Discord, and many others. I looked into the eyes of my marefriend, but it was rather apparent that she had no feelings for me anymore. She was looking at me with cold disappointment and sorrow. She did not, however hold any hate in her gaze.

"Fluttershy, you almost look surprised. I _told_ you this is what I was destined for. It was simply a matter of time." She slapped me across the face.

"You are destined for _nothing_._ You_ chose to do this. You. No pony else forced you to do this. You are not the stallion I once knew. I feel nothing towards you anymore, Red Storm. _Leave my life, and never come back._" I was shocked at her aggressiveness, even though it was expected. The town was ablaze now, and I could feel the heat on my back. She continued:

"More so, you may think that killing some ponies and burning the evidence is a good idea, but it isn't. If you excuse me, I must go and evacuate the Everfree forest before the fire spreads and _burns_ that down too." I snarled, returning to my not-entirely sane state once more. She turned to trot away, but I grabbed her tail and pulled her back. She squealed, and I breathed in her face:

"I'm sorry dear, but I won't let you leave me now. I gave you my heart, and I _expect the same_." Her eyes went wide at what I was implying, and before I could react, I plunged my hoof straight into her chest. She lay in my arms, spazaming as I extracted her still-beating heart in a geyser of blood, and took a bite out of it. I smiled devilishly at her, but all malice left me as an ember of my humanity ignighted once more. She was dying in my arms, but managed to whisper:

"Red… Storm… I hate you." Her eyes closed slowly and I set her down. My heart was heavy after having just murdered my love in cold blood, but my fury kept that from holding me back. I made a funeral pire for everypony I had killed, after all, it would be rude no to give them their final rights. Once I burned the rest of the town down I flew into the air and reviewed my work. _'Kill count: ten ponies. Buildings capsized: four. Overall evaluation: a good start.'_ Suddenly, there was a flash of light next to me, and my sister was there next to me, levitating herself with her advanced magics.

"Hello brother. Good work! Now, to return your sanity and conscience."

"I beg your pardon?" she tapped me on the head with her horn, and with a flash of orange magic, I was alone. Not only because _she_ was gone, but because the _voices_ were gone as well. I was not alone for long, however, as just as suddenly as my sister appeared, my conscience returned to me. I cried. For the first time in decades, I cried from despair. I felt like killing myself. But no, I was not worthy of such peace. I decided I would live alone in the Everfree forest, amoungst animals like my love once did.

I flew down to the edge of town and striped myself of my armour before heading into the dark forest; with tittering shadows following me, mocking me from the light of the raging fires. I walked aimlessly for some time before I came across a small hut. It had strange tribal glyphs and markings along the outside walls, along with intimidating masks on stakes not unlike lawn ornaments. I felt the urge to enter, and so I went up to the door, and knocked. Imediately a voice chimed within:

"Hello and welcome, my troubled friend. Come inside, so your heart we may mend." I found the rhyming odd, but I entered.

Inside was an odd sight, even to me. I instantly recognized the furnishing inside as that of a southern tribal, and a Zebra greeted me.

"Hello Red Storm, Zecora am I. How are you doing on a day so fine?" I blinked, before saying:

"Well let's see here. I just killed all of my friends, burned their bodies, before destroying the town we lived in. I have been having a good day." She just chuckled.

"You have yet to see this is all a lie. Sit down, and I shall explain to you why." I felt like she was a bit odd, but that she spoke with much wisdom. I followed her command.

"You have been tricked, and your mind plagued. This entire world, your sister has faked." I was beginning to understand what she was saying… but not really.

"This is all just… an elaborate illusion?"

"Quite indeed, though hard to explain. The details can become quite a pain." I nodded at this, knowing that illusions can take many forms, and many levels of complexity. She then handed me a single red pellet. I looked at her sideways. She said:

"Do not fear, for your recovery this treatment must be done. Although I must admit, the waking up process is not any fun." I swallowed the red pellet, and instantly my head felt like exploding. Then, it did.


	29. is You, Fluttershy

_Autor's wordy-bitz: Heeyy… Sorry 'bout the wait since the last chapter, and the length of this one. I have been cracked out on Fallout: New Vegas and my priorities suck. Anyways… 'ere she is! Also, if you are interested, read my other story I have started: "Darkness, Everlasting". It's got zombies!_

Ch XXVI:

…Is You, Fluttershy

My eyes flew open. I was in the hospital again, and Fluttershy was by my bedside, along with Zecora. Fluttershy squeaked in surprise as I shot up straight in bed, and Zecora looked like she was waking up from a nap. However, I soon realized she was using a Dream Walker spell from the incense wafting in the room. The pieces quickly fell into place and I realized what my sister had done. She had cast the spell of "Eternal Night" on me. The spell puts the body of the victim into a comatose, while causing a sensory overload and the illusion of living your greatest fears. Truly a fate worse than death, and I was beyond relieved that it was all over. However… because of the nature of the spell, I was supposed to die in that state. I didn't, and I felt noticeably different from the experience. I had killed my friends and my lover, as well as several others before I discovered it was a lie. However, the emotions that came from the illusion still linger, and I can't help but feel slightly unhinged from it. Nonetheless, it was just a Dream, and I should treat it as such.

"Hello, love. I just finished having the worse nightmare. Pray tell, how did I wind up here?"

"I found you lying in the woods. You wouldn't wake up, so I had some of my animal friends bring you here. When the doctors said that you were in a magic-induced comatose, and they couldn't figure out why. When even Twilight couldn't wake you up, I got desperate and had Zecora come here to try and help. She told me that you were under a curse, and that she could help. The two of you were under for several hours and I was afraid you weren't going to wake up-"

"I'm ok, Fluttershy. It's all ok. We're both awake now, everypony is ok." I shuddered, remembering killing Fluttershy. I shook it way.

"Well… If you say so. But a few minutes ago you were crying. If you need to talk, I'm here for you. That's what marefriends are for." I shrugged, and moved out of the bed. I motioned for Fluttershy to head out, and I stopped Zecora at the entrance.

"What happened in there stays between us, ok?"

"The experience that we hold shall not be told."

"Good! And why do you rhyme all the time?"

"The reason I rhyme all the time, is due to a foalhood trauma involving limes." _'Right. There is nothing weird about that.'_

I moved towards the door, yanking out the I.V. as I went, and outside the door waiting was my beloved.

"Pray tell, love, how long was I out?"

"A day." I shudder ran through me. Today was Hearth's Warming. I needed to get her somethi-

"I know you weren't able to get me something, between working in the mines and this…" _'Wait, she knew all along? Wow, I suck.'_ "So you don't have to worry about it. An idea popped up in my head. I leaned in and kissed her, right on the lips. She hesitated, but leaned into the kiss quickly. We stayed locked in a passionate embrace for several moments before we broke away.

"Happy Hearth's Warming, love. I hope you enjoyed your gift." She said nothing, but instead grabbed me and pulled me into another kiss._ 'Somepony is feeling happy today.'_ She pulled away quickly, saying:

"That was the best Hearth's Warming gift a mare could wish for." I smiled a gentle smile, but I then remembered that Zecora was behind me. I spun around to say "thank-you" again, but she was already gone, a nearby window open. _'What is wrong with ponies using the front door in this town?'_ I closed the window, and led Fluttershy to the door. I dropped a hoof-full of bits onto the front desk with my bill, and walked out with Fluttershy into the cold outside.

Within a few minutes, we were back home. I opened the door, and stepped inside behind Fluttershy. I stripped off my armour and tossed it into a corner while she hopped off to the kitchen to prepare dinner. In the center of the room was a large tree, along with several small boxes underneath, wrapped in colourful paper. I realized that these were all presents, and out of the six that were present, three were for me. This, was unacceptable. I noticed that the last three, the largest, were for Angel. That furry little bastard.

"Fluttershy, I just remembered that I needed to get something."

"Ok! Just be back soon! Dinner will be ready in about thirty minutes, and after we will open presents." I was already flying out the door, and I had one pony in mind. Within record time (13 seconds) I was at Whitewash's door, ringing the bell. She stepped to the door, clad in a kinky red lingerie outfit with a pointed red cap.

"Now is not the best time, Red Storm. I kinda have a mare over…"

"Captain! I have a special assignment for you!"

"Sir-yessir!" She stood tall, and looked rather funny saluting me in her outfit.

"I failed to acquire a present for my marefriend, and I need your help to find one!"

"Understood sir! I know many excellent places to get several in less than ten minutes at reasonable prices, sir!"

"Capital! Let us depart A-S-A-P!"

"Yessir!..." she faltered, "Permission to change, sir!"

"Permission granted!" she bolted into the back room and came back several seconds later in her armour and with an orange-haired mare by her side. The yellow mare with the orange mane looked terrified, and her green eyes flicked between us. Still in my "Commander Persona", I shouted in her direction:

"Civilian! You are _DIS-MISSED!_" she squeaked and ran away, out the door and as fast as she could. Whitewash sighed.

"Was that really necessary?" she said, her normal personality back.

"_ABSOLUTELY_! Let's move out, Captain! We have _FIFTEEN_ minutes to buy a gift and wrap it!"

"SIR YES SIR!" She bolted out down the hall, and I flew alongside her. We had shopping to do.

I returned home with two colourful boxes in my forelegs (one from Whitewash, one from me) just as Fluttershy began to set the table. I slid the boxes under the tree and moved to the kitchen. I admittedly didn't know what Whitewash got Fluttershy, but I suppose I would know soon enough. I moved behind her silently, and cupped my hooves over her eyes, much to her surprise. She breathed lightly as I gave her a peck on the cheek.

"I'm back, sweetie. What's for dinner?"

"I made some nice carrot soup for dinner. I had also prepared a cake while you were in the hospital. I hope you like it," she said quietly as I moved my hooves from her eyes, and holding her in a hug about the waist instead.

"I'm sure it will be absolutely delicious." And it was. We ate in relative silence, and I thought solemnly about the horrors I had committed within my own mind. If I did those things in what I thought to have been reality, who's to say I won't do them in real life as well? Fluttershy broke the silence.

"Red Storm… what happened to you?" I wondered whether or not I should tell her the truth. I decided yes.

"My love, it has come to my attention that my father wishes me dead. He had tortured my sister until she admitted to knowing where I was, and he sent her to kill me. She had cast a spell called 'Eternal Night' upon me, which places the afflicted into a comatose-like state while they dream their greatest fears as though they were a reality. As the spell wears on, it will cause the victim so much emotional agony that they will lose the will to live, and die." Fluttershy just continued to eat her soup in silence, before asking:

"I don't mean to pry, but what did you dream of?" Truth, or lie? Both.

"I dreamt that you and everypony else I cared for were killed. It had to have been the worst feeling in my life." _'Because _I_ did it.'_ She put a hoof on mine.

"Don't worry so much about it, sweetie," She said, and I almost jumped at 'sweetie'… great Celestia, it is good to be loved.

"It was all just a dream. Besides, it's Hearth's Warming day! Let's open our presents!" She jumped out of her seat, and trotted over to the tree. I joined her, and she pulled out one of the boxes that I had brought.

"Red Storm… You didn't have to!"

"Ah, but I did! Go on… open it up!" She did so, and beneath the colourful wrapping was a box with a small gold locket inside. The locket had a single, glimmering Blood Ruby on the outside (Which had cost an astronomical amount to have fitted in.) Inside, there was a picture of myself, and a small hoof-carved sentence:

"_To my dearest beloved; the kindest soul I know."_ She just looked at it, a small tear forming. I couldn't happen but add the "Kindest" part after my revelation on the true status of my friends, but more than that, it was due to her being supportive of me since the very beginning; that very day I woke up in her bed. So very kind…

"Red Storm! It's beautiful! Thank you _so_ much! You really shouldn't have gone to so much trouble to do this for me!"

"Yes, in fact, I did. I could not possibly allow you to give me any gifts without you receiving any from me. Besides, I needed to show my manliness through wasting an absurd amount of bits on such a gift! Only a true stallion can make such poor financial decisions!" My marefriend giggled at this, before putting on the locket.

"Poor financial decision or not, I love it. Thank you." She then passed a box to me. I tore it open eagerly: this would be the very first actual _present_ I will have ever received for any occasion. Inside the small box was a vial of red liquid, on a chain. I opened it and sniffed the contents gingerly. The liquid was without a doubt blood, and it smelled of the forest. I re-capped the vial and looked at Fluttershy sideways.

"What, pray tell is _this_?" She looked slightly crestfallen.

"Its… some of my blood. I thought it might be a fitting gift." I realized the intention. She wished for a part of her to be with me forever. Where I come from, this is the same as a marriage proposal. I let go of the thought as I put the chain about my neck. After all, how could she possibly have known about…? That's when I saw a small, red book on the coffee table. From across the room I could clearly see its title: _"History and culture of the Sanguine Nation_._"_ My mind went blank, and Fluttershy followed my gaze to the book. She made an "eek" as she sped over to collect the book. The damage, however, was done.

"Dear…" I began, still staring at the book, now in Fluttershy's forelegs. "Are… are you proposing to me?" She simply stared at me, and I stared back. After what seemed like whole millennia, she finally said:

"Maybe…" I jumped up with such enthusiasm that I hit my head on the ceiling.

"Yes! YES! _I ACCEPT! YES!_" I cried with joy and glee. "I would LOVE to marry you! Nothing would make me happier!" I took her up in my forelegs in a great, big hug. I swung her about the room before setting her down again.

"I accept your proposal, Fluttershy. I would be honoured to be your husband," I said flatly (but softly) after brushing back down the mare's mane. I gave her a quick kiss, and tears were forming in my eyes. A quick glance revealed that tears were forming in her beautiful pools as well. We gathered ourselves and continued to unwrap gifts.

Angel got several items of grand material wealth, but simply shook his head and headed over to the liquor cabinet. I unwrapped my last two gifts: a grand helmet that matched my suit of Bloodsteel armour (but was not made of it, alas); and a simply marvelous night-black suit and matching blood-red tie. I gave my new fiancé my thanks, and we opened the last box together: Whitewash's gift to Fluttershy. I honestly had no idea what she had gotten for her, so I was just as curious as Fluttershy herself. There was a card attached that read:

"_Hope you enjoy it, you two! And, congrats on your engagement!"_

That was creepy. How the hell did she foresee our engagement? We took off the wrapping paper and looked into the plain box underneath. What was inside was, to put it simply, unnerving.

Within the box were a latex suit, hoofcuffs, and a whip.

I just stared and then looked at my fiancé. She bore a look of surprise.

"I am terribly sorry about this. I will throw this out, and give Whitewash a good tongue-lashing later-" She placed a hoof to my lips, and revealed a sinful grin.

"Now, now. Don't jump to conclusions, Red Storm. We may want to use these… later." My mane stood up on end as she brought the box upstairs to the bedroom, still giving me that look. As soon as she left from my view, my wings unfurled in what Rainbow Dash had called a "Wing-boner" I folded them shut again as Fluttershy returned downstairs.

"Now that the presents are done, would you like some cake?" I nodded slowly, and we both made our way to the kitchen.

'_Employed? Engaged? Things are looking up!'_

'_I told you, shut up.'_


	30. Makin' Our Way Back From Mars

Ch XXVII

Makin' Our Way Back From Mars

I opened my eyes slowly, and let the early morning light fill them. By my side lay my beautiful fiancé, Fluttershy. She slept lightly, and I could feel her breath on my chest. It was truly the most wonderful thing, being engaged. The two of us shared a love and passion for each other that I could never have even dreamed of. While we burned for each other each day, we still believed it was best to save our virtue, for after we wed. On that note, our wedding was just a few weeks from now, and I am ecstatic. Each day we spend hours planning for each and every possible situation and variable, from one of us suffering from illness, to a full-fledged assault from my father. Nothing was left out, and it seemed like it will be the greatest day of my life… well, actually, I _am_ worried about the honeymoon, as Fluttershy never threw out Whitewash's gift, and with each passing day I feel like she was serious about wanting to use it. Not that it's a bad thing, of course. It's just the thought of my sweet, delicate Fluttershy bending me over with a whip scares me. Either way, I really can't wait…

_'Oh! Hey, just reminding you… It's hearts and hooves day today.'_

_ 'No, you don't say? I knew that. And again, stop talking to me.'_

_ 'Hey. I am the only one around here that can string together proper sentences without shouting something homicidal, so you may as well give me credit for that.'_

_ '… Touché. Still, don't bother me. I have things to do.'_ The voice ceased its prattling then.

I slowly moved from the bed, being absolutely sure not to wake up my sleeping beauty, before moving downstairs. I moved groggily, as I was still a bit tired, but alas, it would be all but impossible for me to fall asleep now that I was up. I walked past my sister, who was sitting on the couch, and made my way to the kitchen. There, half awake I prepared the romantic breakfast I had planned for Fluttershy and myself. I then returned to the living room after setting everything up, and Scarlet Rain offered me some coffee, which I accepted graciously. I took the cup and sipped gently, before spitting it out, realizing that _my sister was here_.

"_Putain de MERDE!_ What are _you_ doing here? Please don't try to kill me again, because I'm getting married in three weeks, and I would rather my fiancé not be put through such grief." The sleek dark purple mare giggled at my plainly stated plea. I noticed she now bore a scar across her left cheek, likely a reminder of her treachery and torture.

"I'm not here for revenge, brother. I am here to check up on my favorite sibling!" If my brain was powered by a hamster on a wheel, the hamster just stopped running.

"What?" I asked, slightly irritated, but silently as to not awake my beloved above. "Just a few months ago you cast one of the three most dangerous curses in existence on me, and then you just expect me to _forgive you?_ No! What you did was simply _unforgivable_! I watched as I murdered all of my loved ones, and you come here like we are best friends!" I was now using my normal volume of speech. She blinked a few times, shocked, and obviously hurt.

"Brother… I'm sorry you see it that way. I told you, Father _ordered_ me to, and I had to obey. Believe me; I was having nightmares for weeks about what nightmares _you_ could have had. Not to mention how terrible it was for me to have to deal with the possibility of you being _dead_. I really, truly love you brother." I simmered down instantly. Something about my sister when she is like this just melts me like butter over an open flame.

"Very well, Scarlet. I will forgive your heinous deed. But so not expect this from me again. Cross me again and there will be no respite." She just nodded happily, simply gay at my forgiveness.

"So… you're settling down, huh?" She asked after a few moments of awkward silence.

"Yes. Why exactly does it matter to you?" She shrugged

"Oh, it's just nice to see that my little Red Storm is all grown up. You know, I don't even have any suitors… Maybe it's the eyes…" she trailed off as she began gently poking herself in the eye. She didn't even blink as she jammed her entire hoof into her eye socket. I stood there, slightly unnerved until she stood up, removing the hoof from her eye with a wet *POP* and saying:

"Well, anyway… I was just stopping by. I'm not going to ask what you dreamt, or how you survived. I just wanted to come by to see if you are ok. I'm going to leave now, but do reserve a seat for me at your wedding. I will be there." Before she could reach the door, there was a knock on the door. We both looked at each other sideways, before my sister ducked behind the couch and I made my way to the door. I opened it, and there stood Miss Doo.

"Ditzy! How nice to see you! And how have you been doing?" I asked, trying to act as if my homicidal sister was just behind me; and I was doing a rather fine job too.

"Red Storm! Hello to you too! I just came by with a letter. Real spooky lookin' one. All red with a weird wax seal on it. It's like you're royalty or something!" She said this jokingly, but the truth could be no closer. "Anyway, while I would love and stay to chat, I have other letters to deliver. Maybe you, Fluttershy, the Doctor and I can all go on a double-date sometime? It'd be fun!"

"Perhaps," I was looking at the letter, almost nodding her off, "That would be nice." She flew off, none the wiser, and I stepped back inside. My sister moved to my side as I opened the letter. We both knew this was no ordinary letter, and it showed. This was a letter from my father. I pulled out a sheet of parchment from within, and on it was a message hoof-written in ink.

_'Hello, my son. I have received word of your impending marriage, and I must say that I am proud. While it is no Sanguine Wedding, it is your wedding nonetheless. I send my blessing, and my promise of absolutely no interference, before, during, or after. While I would wish to attend my kin's wedding, I will only make an appearance at your whim. Your father ~ Red Wing ~'_

"What nerve!" I said in disbelief. "My father sends you to kill me, has _tried_ to kill me for almost a decade, and now he expects an invitation to my bloody _wedding?_ Buck, no. He can go to Tartarus." I threw the sheet at the ground, and as it floated lazily to the ground, my frustration grew. My sister placed a hoof on my shoulder, signaling for me to calm down, which I did quickly. However, while my body calmed, the seas of my mind roared.

_'How dare he! He has got to be the worst father ever, and now he wants an invitation! You should go home now and beat him into submission!'_

_ 'Come now; look at it as your sister has presented it. He just wanted what was best for you after all this time. The assassination attempts were a set of tests to make you stronger. And stronger you have become.'_

_ 'No. I must not let this drag me down. It won't. I will not let it.'_

I brushed my sister's hoof off of my shoulder, and brushed down my mane with a hoof, as my fury had caused it to become untidy. Then, above there was movement. My sister gave a brief nod, before disappearing out the door. Down came my fiancé, and I greeted her with a hug.

"Good morning, my love. And how did you sleep?"

"Well. Happy Hearts and Hooves day Red Storm." I chuckled.

"Indeed. Happy Hearts and Hooves day." The holiday was still alien to me, although I had been studying the holiday for weeks with Twilight Sparkle. It was supposed to be a holiday devoted to the love and joy of romantic partnership. I still did not understand it. After all, I was raised in a country where business was more important than love, and any type of marriage was always for political reasons. Still, I was interested. More so, I wanted nothing more than to show my wife-to-be the best Hearts and Hooves day ever. I had planned (in order) a delightful breakfast, a nice little spot of shopping, a spa treatment, a hiking trip to the most lovely spot I had found the other day, before finishing it up with a romantic picnic. After all, she is truly the most important pony in my life, and deserves the best. I let her go from my embrace, and she kissed my nose before heading over to the kitchen. There, there was a "squeak" of surprise. _'Excellent. Phase one, complete.'_ I made my way over, and there, spread across the table was a beautiful assortment of flowers, fruits, and other things that were both appealing and delicious. The flowers were assorted in multicolor rings of red, yellows, purples and pinks, and the fruit were stacked into a neat pile in the center of it all. I gave Fluttershy a quick kiss before pulling out a chair for her. I pushed her in after she sat down, and I sat myself across the table.

"Go on, eat, my love. I did all this for you." She smiled before taking some flowers and beginning to munch on them. I then noticed that she was wearing her locket. Now _that_ made me feel warm inside.

"So Red Storm," she said after swallowing the last of the flowers she was eating, "what have you got planned today? Because, knowing you, you have something spectacular planned out.

"Indeed I do! But, that is for _you_ to find out. Not now. Later. Now, we eat!" I took an apple out of the pile, nodded my head to it, and took a bite. I returned my gaze to Fluttershy, and said:

"Today, I have prepared the ultimate Hearts and Hooves Day date for you. And the secret ingredient of this ensemble is: LOVE!" I grabbed her with one foreleg and ran out the door with her slung across my back. She never even got to finish her breakfast, I realized soon after.

We arrived at the market place in mere moments, due to me flying there with her on my back at Mach 3. She was giggling as we landed and windows exploded.

"That was fun, but unnecessary." She brushed her mane back down as everypony came out of cover.

"Oh, but it was necessary! I had to make an entrance for my beautiful fiancé!" I turned to a random pony; "_Isn't she beautiful?_" He slowly backed away, and I realized I had another psychotic break. I gathered myself, and turned to Fluttershy.

"Anyway, we are here so that I may lavish you with material wealth of your choice. Please, my darling, lead the way!" She nodded with a smile and a blush, and led the way. We arrived at the very same jeweler as the one where I had purchased the locket, but I made no note of this. We stepped inside, and she began to look around. For this, I was prepared. I had been saving money for weeks for just this occasion. I had enough bits and gems on person to buy a solid gold chariot for Fluttershy, and that was merely what I have on me. The stallion who owns the mine that I work in is kind enough to let us miners keep any gems we dig up, as he is there for the iron and minerals. That, plus the twenty-bits-an-hour wage makes for good living with Fluttershy, even though I have been working at night now so that I can share the day with my love.

Fluttershy was trying on a very pretty set of ruby and gold earrings that went marvelously with the locket. It's eerie, really, how much she wears red these days. She only started this trend after we started dating, but now it seems like she loves the colour these days. Likewise, it has become apparent to me how much I love the colour of aquamarine stones, and I was in fact looking at a dashing set of aquamarine cufflinks when Fluttershy came up to me with the earrings.

"Can I get these? I like them a lot." I put the cufflinks back and pulled out my coin purse.

"Of course, my dear. We are shopping for you. We can get whatever you want." I placed the earrings on the counter, the storepony rung them up, and I paid the three hundred bits, all while wearing a smile. I smiled because while I knew that material gifts cannot bring eternal happiness, they can bring momentary joy. And one cannot place a price tag on the happiness of a loved one.

We left, and spent another hour or so shopping, in which we spent over two thousand bits. All the while I smiled. It didn't matter to me how much I was spending for my love, because if she is happy, then I am in ecstasy. She had bought the earrings, two dresses, and a new pair of shoes, along with a few other things that she wouldn't allow me to see from a rather suspicious shop. Overall, it was a rather successful shopping trip.

"Are you finished shopping for now, my love?" Fluttershy nodded her head. "Well then, I suppose it is time for our next course of action… wait, can you stay here while I bring everything back home?" She nodded again silently. Peculiar. I gave her a quick peck, and slung the shopping bags over my shoulder before taking off. Seconds later I broke the sound barrier and a few more seconds later I landed in front of the cottage. I made my way inside, and plopped the bags down on the floor next to the couch, and I saw the red letter. I moved to it, and picked it up. I moved to the kitchen, and threw it away. I then made my way back to the door, locked up, and took off again.


	31. Never Gonna Give You Up

Ch XXVIII:

Never Gonna Give You Up

I landed back in the market place and made my way back to Fluttershy.

"So, are you ready, love? We still have much to do, and time waits for nopony!" My fiancé nodded vigorously, and I hugged her close with my wing, leading her towards the Service and Recreational District. Together we trotted to the movie theater, and along the way I saw a great many ponies I had never seen before, but recognized.

_'You remember them because you watched them die. You know them from the dream… nay, the nightmare.'_

_ 'Quite. Now, if you lot don't mind, I am trying to maintain lucidity. So stop talking to me.'_ The voice stopped again, but I still heard whispers in the back of my mind, as usual. I simply ignored the maddening prattling, as I was already quite mad.

I watched as dozens of pairs of ponies pranced about, doing loving things, such as having picnics in the park area, nuzzling noses, and eating single strands of spaghetti so that they "accidentally" kiss. How so very cute. I then looked at my beloved, and examined her features. Her lovely blue eyes were glistening in the sunlight, and her pink mane blew lightly in the breeze. My gaze moved to her muzzle, and her adorable little mouth, and I gave her an affectionate peck on the cheek. She smiled lightly, and kissed me back. What I wouldn't give to know what she is thinking.

"Wow, you two just look great together." I jumped, but gathered myself just as fast when Whitewash spoke up from behind me. I looked at her, glaring, before saying:

"You know, you are almost as bad as Pinkie Pie at this poin-"

"Hiya Red Storm!" _'Great plot-tearing-Celestia!'_ I spun around, and there was Pinkie Pie. I was downwind of her, and didn't smell her, let alone hear her arrival. How the devil does she _do_ that?

"What?... Huh? What are you doing here? How did you _both_ sneak up on me? _Why_ may be a better question."

"Aw, just to mess with you, hon!" Whitewash said, giggling.

"Yeah!" Pinkie Pie joined in, "Because that's fun! And I'm all about fun!" They giggled again in unison before vanishing into thin air. I wondered briefly if it was Whitewash's doing, or if it was Pinkie Pie's. I decided the former was far more likely. Then again, with the Pink One, you can never truly know… I gave my fiancé a quick glance, and she just shrugged. We then continued on our way, as I constantly sniffed the air for magical residue.

Fluttershy and I arrived at the movie theater a few minutes later, and we looked at the movie list. Today was obviously "lovey-dovey" day, so all the showings were romances. Among them, we decided on a movie titled "_50 Shades of Hay_." It sounded intriguing to us so we bought two tickets and headed in.

_...1.5 extremely uncomfortable hours later…_

We walked back outside, neither one of us looking at each other.

"That was… unexpected, to say the least." I said, my "wingboner" still slightly apparent. I looked over to Fluttershy, who was red as a tomato with a full-blown wingboner. I recalled the contents of the movie with a slight shudder. _'I didn't even _know_ about half of those things! I wonder what she thought…'_

"It was a good movie," the buttermilk mare finally said. Her wings folded back up and she gave a weak smile. I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, the fellow in the back of the theater certainly thought so. I heard him throughout the entire film." We both chuckled, still blushing. Then, I regained my thoughts.

"Smutty movie or not, we have a schedule! We need to get back on track!" I paused for a moment, realizing that we were supposed to go to the spa, not watch a movie. Oh well, bumble-brained Red Storm strikes again! Though seriously, a spa treatment would have been far better than that "movie"… I swept up the love of my life onto my back and started for the hills.

"Time to hike! _ONWARDS!_"

"Hey, there they are!" The purple librarian's voice set me alight, for unknown reasons. _'Damn. Why the hell are we so popular today? WHY CAN'T WE JUST HAVE A DAY TO OURSELVES?'_ My eye twitched involuntarily as the young unicorn approached with her coltfriend, a white stallion and a pink alicorn… _'Huh… that's odd.'_ I set Fluttershy down and soothed myself. I realized that I usually keep Fluttershy away from her friends anyway, now that we are engaged, stealing her away for personal time together. Not that she has been complaining. It has, however, been rather selfish of me.

"This is him. This is Red Storm!" Twilight said, gesturing a hoof at me for her companions. Big Mac simply nodded at me, and I returned the gesture. The white stallion raised an eyebrow.

"So… you're the one my little sis has been talking about? The one she nearly killed, right?" He gave her a wary look, before returning his gaze to me. Twilight blushed as he continued:

"I'm Twilight's big brother, Shining Armor. This is my wife, Cadance." My eyes bulged slightly, but noticeably.

"Hold the phone- This is Princess Cadance? Your wife is Princess Mi Amore Cadenza?" The stallion nodded as the princess looked rather worried. "That's… Amazing! Twilight," I turned to the unicorn spastically, "you never said anything about having a brother, let alone him being _royalty_!" She looked nervous as she explained:

"Yeah, well, it never really came up." I accepted this answer, and I turned to the princess.

"It is wonderful to meet you! Where I come from, we praise you as the Princess of Love, and may I add that it is a great honour to meet you!" The princess, however, looked fearful.

"Uh… yes… Red Storm, you said? I… I have heard of you. You are the son of Red _Wing_, no?" I was slightly surprised at this, but nodded.

"Your father has been threatening to invade us for months now, under the belief you were hiding there. The Crystal Empire and the Sanguine Kingdom have been strong business partners for decades, since Queen Scarlet Swift, and his sudden threats had worried me. Now, however, they worry me further, as the Empire has magic and harsh elements to protect it. Equestria, on the other hoof, does not."

I swallowed as Cadance finished speaking. _'Father has been threatening the Crystal Empire? He is surely mad…'_ I shook away the feeling of dread.

"It has been nice meeting you; Princess, Prince; but Fluttershy and I have a schedule and must depart. I am sorry for my father's aggressiveness, but his threats should stop now, as he knows I am here, not there. I will deal with him myself, so have no fear. Now, I bid you, adieu." I then left, swinging Fluttershy onto my back and earning a few confused looks and a scowl from the princess.

A few minutes later, I had already reached the edge of town with Fluttershy on my back. I set her down, realizing that this was supposed to be a romantic hike, but when I flashed Fluttershy a smile, she was frowning.

"Red Storm, we need to talk." I tried to feign innocence.

"Why? Now is the time to walk, and enjoy the beauty of nature."

"I get to do that every day. I live next to the Everfree with animals, or had you forgotten?" Not working. "You need to tell me what is going on with your father, and how he knows where you are." Damn. It was worth a shot.

"Ok, ok. I have not been telling you everything. As your fiancé I should, but I have been quite selfish as of late. This morning my sister had come by for a visit-"

"_What? Scarlet Rain was here?_" she squealed with fury.

"Yes, but not as an assassin. She is still my sister, mind you. Anyway, she came by, and during her visit Miss Doo delivered a letter from my father-"

"Your father mailed you? What else aren't telling me?"

"Keep interrupting me and you will never know." I said, giving her a dirty look. Today is not going according to plan. "My father mailed me asking for an invitation to our upcoming wedding, which I will obviously not do. I did know that he was searching the five continents for me, but I did not know he was threatening war. However, I will deal with that in my own time-"

"Red Storm… if we are going to get married, I can't let you go and keep things from me, and I can't let you go and leave to 'deal with it'. We need to communicate. We need to stay together." I thought for a moment.

_'She is correct. Marriage is a sacred bond of love and trust. One should not turn their back on their lover.'_

_ 'Yes, true, very true. However, she wouldn't understand. I cannot put her through my troubles.'_

_ 'Isn't that what love is? Standing by the one you love for everything? Thick and thin?'_

_ '… Yes…'_ I blinked.

"Ok, Fluttershy. I promise not to keep any secrets from you from now on. I will include you in everything. For now, though, can we just enjoy our romantic hike?" She looked at me warily, and I quickly added; "If that's… uh… ok with you…" She giggled and nudged me a little bit before smiling her loving smile again.

Together we walked for about forty-five minutes along the outskirts of the Everfree, heading up a hill, taking in the sights. I could tell Fluttershy was unfamiliar with this area from her wide eyes of wonder and curiosity. I remember the general area from my… skyfall on that fateful night. The very night I met Fluttershy…

I re-focused. There, nearby, was the area where I had landed. The quartet of craters had filled up from erosion and were much less apparent, but still just so. The once flat plain now looked more like a hilly one, but that is just mindless thinking. I turned to Fluttershy and pointed.

"This, my dear, is the very place where my final decent took place. You can tell from the scarring that I hit the ground rather hard, and from the distance from here to the cottage I had to drag myself a rather far way a ways to arrive at your doorstep." I meant not to boast, but looking back on the distance, it occurred to me that I must have covered a mile during my trudge, which is rather impressive. Fluttershy just simply looked on, in awe. I nudged her forward.

"Come along now, love. We still have about another two miles or so to cover before we arrive at the rest place." She nodded, but never broke her gaze from the craters. We continued on, and every now and then, when a bird would whistle, she would whistle a tune back. It was all very nice and peaceful. We also saw the occasional bunny or other small mammals. We began to plunge into the forest about another mile in, and hiked the rest of the way up a hill. Then, it came into view as we picked up the pace.

We soon arrived at the spot; a wonderfully lighted and open area; a meadow really. I stepped forward into the light, and beckoned to Fluttershy to join me in its warming caress. She sat down in the beautiful field as I made my way around the clearing patting down trees. Fluttershy gave me an odd look, and I couldn't help but blush.

"Sorry dear, I am looking for a hollow tree that I had placed picnic supplies in earlier, but I can't remember which it was…" I found the tree with an "Ah-ha!", and pulled a basket and blanket out of a hole in the trunk. I spread the blanket and set up the picnic with the said supplies as Fluttershy bathed in the light of the meadow. _'Damn, she is bucking gorgeous.'_

I motioned for her to join me on the now-spread blanket. She lay down next to me, giving me a cute smile. _'Ah, this is nice. And to think we were arguing minutes earlier…'_ I sifted through the food quickly, and removed a grape vine, some apples, an edible bouquet of colorful flowers, and a bottle of wine. At this point, the sun had already begun to set, and the orange-yellow sky looked absolutely wonderful on her body. I fed her a few grapes and hugged her close. We munched on a shared apple, but overall kept rather quiet as we watched the sun crept towards the horizon.

Suddenly, Fluttershy rose to her hooves.

"Red Storm, while laying here next to you is nice and all, I feel like we should take advantage of our lonesome…" I swallowed, and she continued, "To have some fun!" She began to frolic about the meadow with a look of glee on her face. I relaxed, realizing that I likely spend too much time with Whitewash and her innuendos. I sprung up, and cracked my neck.

"If you insist, my darling. However, 'fun' really isn't my thing…" She bounced back to me and gave me a light tug.

"Oh, but it's really not that hard, Red Storm. All you have to do is let yourself be happy, and your body will do the rest! Pinkie Pie taught me that."

"Hmm… Well… I suppose I _could_ try…" She bounded away and squealed behind her:

"Come on, Red Storm! Chase me!" I smiled a light smile and started after her.

…_hours later…_

We listened to the crickets begin to chirp as the sun slowly turned from yellow, to orange, to red, then purple, then finally dark blue. We had lost track of time as the hours had flew by, and now we lay by each other, holding each other in a loving caress. I then spoke up, once the sun was but a sliver on the horizon.

"Fluttershy, I love you. I cannot emphasize this more. This has been truly one of the most enjoyable days of my life, and I am slightly saddened it is over. I guess all good things _do_ have to come to an end." I gave her a kiss, and hugged her once more before I began to rise. She, however, put a hoof on my shoulder, and brought me back down to her eye level.

"Red Storm," she began, her eyes sparkling, "I have had a wonderful time today. This was my first Hearts and Hooves day with a special somepony, and you made it memorable. But it doesn't mean it needs to end." A sly smile crept across her face, and I have to admit, in the moonlight, she looked almost sultry, if not downright devilish. I instantly got the message.

"Oh. _OH_! I-I can't possibly do that, Fluttershy. I mean, what if…" She pulled me closer to her face, and lost all trace of flirtation and/or lust. Now, it was flat worry.

"Red Storm, you said it yourself before. We are living on borrowed time. Now, your father knows where we are. If his army is as powerful as you say it is-" I cut her off:

"Fluttershy, I can understand your worry. However, I can promise you, I will do everything in my power, call upon every alliance I have ever made, every deal I have ever struck up, and make sure my father does not hurt you nor anypony else. I don't want you to be pressured into giving up yourself to me. We have plenty of tim-" She interupped me with a kiss. When she pulled away, that look was back in her eyes.

"Honestly Red Storm, I really don't care anymore." Something clicked in my head that either Fluttershy has some serious issues she needs talked about, or I really have corrupted her. She has never been _this_ assertive. "Yes, I can't help but feel worried about how everything will turn out in the end, but quite honestly, I am just becoming impatient. So can we _please_ have sex?" _'Wow. WOW. I… just wow.'_

"Ok. Sure. I will meet you back home, just let me pack everything up, ok?" She nodded vigorously before taking off. I swear, she was going at least 14 WP just then. I gathered up the blanket, the basket, and slung them around my neck. I then took off, headed home.

_'That could have been worse.'_


	32. Last Night as a Bachelor

Ch. XXIX

Last Night as a Bachelor

I awoke abruptly. I then remembered that I lay with Fluttershy, and I checked on her. She was breathing evenly, so I assumed she was still asleep. I untangled myself from her, and moved out of the bed. I was worried about our upcoming wedding, and rightfully so. We had sent invitations to all of our friends, including the other Elements, Big Mac, and Whitewash. We also sent invitations to her parents, our friends' families, and the like. I had also reluctantly sent an invitation to my sister, due to Fluttershy's suggestion.

I looked back. She looked blissful, smiling in her sleep as she hugged my pillow. I was happy that she was happy, and I was happy that I was going to be hers, and she mine. I crept silently downstairs, and met Angel in the kitchen. He was making coffee, and offered me a cup. One voice proclaimed _'Don't drink it, it's surely poisoned.'_ I rolled my eyes, and accepted it. I took a sip, and looked out the window. I saw the early morning, and thought:

_'Ah… it truly is a new dawn for me. Or… perhaps it would be better to say a new dawn is approaching. I must deal with father first, but after that… yes. Then I may live a new life with Fluttershy… What about children?'_ I imagined Fluttershy and myself with our future foal. _'Ah yes, I can see it now, a little foal, playing in the back yard with Fluttershy and me. It will simply wonderful… wait… what if my child were to bear the Sanguine Curse?'_ The foal suddenly had red eyes, and I shuddered._ 'Unavoidable, I suppose… but I will cross that bridge when I get to it. Now, I must make breakfast… among other things.'_ A vile, bloody burp brought me to the present again. I sniffed the cup of coffee. _'Cyanide'_ I turned to face Angel, who had a wide grin on his face.

"Why you little-" I didn't finish my sentence as I hit the ground, face first. He makes one hellofa cup of coffee.

"Ok, Red Storm! Now, let's go over this again!" The crème unicorn in front of me began from the top for the twentieth time.

"Yes, yes, I know, I know! I stand by the altar and wait for Fluttershy. Then we say our vows and say 'I do'. I am not deficient." Whitewash merely rolled her eyes.

"Your wedding is tomorrow. Everything must. Be. _Perfect_. We have zero room for error, so if your stutter or fall on your face, I'm just gonna laugh and say 'I told you so'." I grit my teeth. This is far more stressful than I thought. Absolutely no respite from this mare, and to think Angel poisoning me earlier today wasn't bad enough. Whitewash and I have been planning the perfect wedding for the last few weeks now, and I was kind of getting annoyed at her attention to detail. Not that it was a bad thing, mind you. It's just that she has been _making_ it a bad thing. I then was brought back to the present via gauntleted hoof to the face.

"Ah! What the buck? Seriously?" She simply grinned.

"You need to stay focused, Red Storm. We need to get everything ready. Have you even gotten your suit from Rarity?" _'Oh sh-'_

I bolted out of the room, and headed directly for the Boutique. A few minutes later, I arrived at the door, and before I could knock, the door flung open, with Rarity standing there.

"Red Storm! I have been waiting all morning! Come on, darling, we have to get you fitted!" She picked me up with her magic and brought me inside. The picking me up part was rather unnecessary, but oh well. She stood me on top of a pedestal and began to dress me while I retained the likeness of a statue. While she fitted my tie, she said:

"Red Storm, dear, I really think it is wonderful that you and Fluttershy are getting married. I was beginning to wonder when she would find her special somepony, and here you are!" she took a step back to admire me in her suit, now fully assembled. It was a lot like the one she gave me for the party, but this one was "The perfect stallion for her. You even fell from the sky, like some angel from the heavens." I tried _really_ hard not to laugh at that one. _'Angel from the heavens? More like a Fallen Angel trying to _reach_ the heavens.'_ She motioned for me to move from the pedestal, and onto a runway on the other side of the room. I moved back and forth with a true model's grace while she viewed me from several angles. When she was finally satisfied, she waved me off the stage. I stepped down, and she stripped me with her magic. She placed everything in a box, neat and folded, and gave it to me. I shouldered it, and looked back to her.

"Quick question before I depart, what about the bridesmaids and groomscolts? Do you have everyponies' outfits made as well?" The white mare just nodded her head.

"Yes dear, everything is ready. I have absolutely everything ready for tomorrow… Well, that is inaccurate. _Twilight_ has everything ready. But I helped!" I just nodded back to her as I headed for the door. I was worried that I had forgotten something suddenly… as if… Something gravely important slipped my mind. I waved good-bye to the seamstress as I stepped into the light of the streets. I made my way through the market to head back home. In my deep thought, I forgot that I could simply fly home. Suddenly, I heard a certain voice call out my name from behind me.

"Hey! Red Storm! Wait up!" I spun around 180 degrees, keeping the box with my suit completely still on my back. Spike, the wee little dragon came running up to me as fast as his little, stubby legs could take him. A voice randomly rung through my head in a Trottish accent:

_'Ah, dragons. They come in three sizes: Wee, not so wee, AND FRICKIN' HUUGE!'_

_'Thank you for that, random Trottish voice.'_

_ 'It's what I'm here for.'_

I stopped and let the baby dragon catch his breath. He took several deep breaths, having just run what seemed to have been all the way from the library, and started:

"Ok… Whew! Ok! You know how you're getting married tomorrow, right? Well, the rest of the groomscolts and I decided to throw you a bachelor party!" I thought about this for a moment. Bachelor party? I have never heard of such a thing.

"Party you say? Is Pinkie Pie going to be involved?" The dragon shook his head.

"Nope! Just us guys! I'm guessing you don't know what it is, huh?" I shook my head in answer. The dragon brushed back his spines, as if he were dealing with an ignorant clot. I let this one go, as in this situation, that's exactly what I am. "Ok, Red Storm, this is how it goes down. The day before the big wedding, all the guys get together and spend the rest of the groom's hours as a bachelor together like guys. Drinks, mares… guy stuff." I was a little unnerved at how the dragon stated this.

"So let me get this straight, this _party_ is where a bunch of 'guys,' as you put it, spend the night in debauchery?" Spike shrugged.

"Pretty much." I gave the _baby_ dragon the evil eye.

"And _you're_ going to be part of this? As far as I can tell, you are a bit young to be going to _this_ party." Spike looked insulted.

"Hey! I'm twenty-one for your information! Dragons just age differently!" _'Holy crap. I didn't even think about that.'_

"Oh… beg your pardon, Spike. I didn't even consider your unique physiology. Very well. I will join you and the other groomscolts to this 'bachelor party'… Uh, just for clarification, where will it be held?"

"It's gonna be at the Cat's Eye Café. It's the only place that does parties _and_ booze." I nodded, remembering the place. I then recalled my bride to be.

"Pray tell, what of Fluttershy? Will she have similar treatment from the bridesmares?" Again, the purple dragon nodded.

"Yeah, Fluttershy is going to be going to a _bachelorette_ party. Don't ask where, 'cause I don't know. All I know is that she is going to be spending the night with Rarity, and if it's anything like a bachelor's party, then she's likely going to be shoulder-deep in stallions tonight." This thought disturbed me. Then, for a moment I drifted off thinking about all the handsome stallions involved. _'Damn. Not again. You are marrying Fluttershy tomorrow. Now is not the time to have second thoughts on your preference.'_ Then, my mind caught me again with memories of… him. For a moment, I was filled with longing. And lust. I dispatched these thoughts from my mind. _'What the buck, brain?'_ I re-focused, and Spike was looking at me funny.

"Hey… uh… are you feeling alright? Your wings are kinda… stiff." I looked to my side, and sure enough, my wings were hard as stone. Wow. Not cool brain. I folded them back into place, and shook away the last thoughts of… _him_.

"Oh, yeah… sorry about that. I kinda slipped off there. I guess I'm more excited about tonight than I thought, huh?" The twenty-one-year-old-baby-dragon laughed a little, but I made motion to depart. I waved good-bye, and took off, remembering my wings this time.

I arrived home soon after, and pulled the spare key out from my wing, opening the door. The house was quiet, save for the few animals that roamed about. I made my way upstairs to the bedroom, and placed my suit on the bed.

"Hmm… I suppose she has already departed. Oh well. I will see her tomorrow," I spoke aloud, letting my voice fill the quiet room. I inhaled deeply, and set out for the Cat's Eye Café. On my way out, I motioned to Angel, who appeared to be making Molotov Cocktails, and told him:

"Watch my things, and do not let anypony... nay, any_one_ inside while I am gone, excluding myself and Fluttershy. I am giving you access to the liquor cabinet and the refrigerator tonight. And don't wreck the joint, either. _Do not fail me_." The bunny nodded quickly, and locked the door behind me as I walked out. I did not really care what unfolds tonight with him, as long as he does not destroy the cottage. I moved silently and quickly into the night as the sun began to set. Mares, stallions, drinks: here I come.

I arrived at the Cat's Eye Café just as the night began and the day ended. I walked in, and I was immediately set upon by Big Mac, Shining Armor, and Spike. The café was bursting with activity, and near the bar I saw about half a dozen more stallions all waving my way. I assumed that they were merely the "other guys" who were to party with me, and not colt cuddlers who thought I was cute. I re-focused as the white stallion whom I had met just weeks ago pushed a pint into my hoof.

"Red Storm! We were beginning to think you weren't coming!" I scoffed as I downed the drink in one fell swoop.

"Come now, Shining Armor, you really thought I would miss my own bachelor party? Bah! Bring me the booze and the wenches; the night has _only just begun!_" I was awarded many cheers as one of the unidentifiable stallions handed me a second pint. I began to chug once more. Once I had my fill, I moved to the bar. Once again, that same stallion as before was at the counter. He looked at me once, and gave me a glass of scotch, floating in a bigger glass of scotch before walking away. I gladly took the shot before downing the bigger glass. For some reason, I felt the need to get falling-down drunk tonight. I got a pat on the shoulder. Out of my temporary belligerence I grabbed the foreleg of those responsible of such a crime and attempted to throw them over the bar top. Attempted is the magic word here. I spun around, and discovered it was in fact Big Macintosh behind me. I was a little shocked when I realized that I was unable to throw him. _'What is this stallion made of, solid lead?'_ I shook off the feeling of surprise and my drunkenness to pay attention to him. Then, I realized that _I was getting drunk_. Wow, I suck lately.

"Red Storm… you know that a bachelor's party isn't about getting' drunk, right?" I gave him a sheepish grin.

"Right. Sorry. So… What _is_ it about?" The red stallion grinned.

"Well, among other things, it's about having fun before you get shackled down." I thought for a moment before responding.

"Humor me. What sort of 'fun' are we talking about here?" Big Mac looked confused. Spike hopped up next to me, sitting down on the next barstool over.

"Basically, you drink, you flirt, you mess around until A) You get kicked out of the café, or B) you score." Spike shrugged and waved down the bartender (whom I recently learned his name was Decaff Grey) slid a mug of foaming cider to Spike. Spike sipped gingerly while I looked around the room. I moved slowly and silently through the bustling building, as lights strobed and ponies danced. Apparently the place was a café by day, club by night. I made my way through the crowd for several moments, wondering what to do. I checked the time on the wall clock near the bar. 9:24. _'Let the games begin, Prince.'_

**The Following takes place between 9:00 PM and 1:00 AM**

9:50- Get piss-faced.

10:13- Cut the Rug

10:53- Go shot-for-shot with Big Mac

11:24- Win

11:35- Hit on mares

11:46- Hit on Shining Armor

12:11- Hook up with random pink mare

12:13- Black out


	33. Nice Day for a Red Wedding

_Author's thoughts: Well… here we are… Chapter XXX… The Act III finale. Damn. I have really come a ways from the first chapter, eh?... Uhh… I dread having to write out the transition… Perhaps I will have my wonderful Co-author write it for me. Yeah… I'm sorry, I am forgetting where I am again. ONWARDS TO THE GRAND FINALE! Well, this grand finale… screw it, just frickin' read it already._

Ch. XXX:

Nice Day for a Red Wedding

I opened my eyes, and I was inside a dark room. I looked about, and only a shed of light poked through a boarded up window. I lay on a bed of straw, and the air smelled of decay. The room I was in was heavily decayed, and the wooden planks used in its construction were eaten through by termites. I arose, and checked myself… _'Wait a minute...'_ My coat was now… olive green? I ran a hoof through my mane and pulled some forward to look at it. Golden. _'Very odd indeed...'_ Suddenly, I smelled smoke, and I heard screams. I was then afraid, for some reason. I heard what sounded like an explosion, and more screams. Then, the door to my room swung open. There, was a mare who had an identical coat, but red mane. Her eyes were a hazel brown.

"Brother! Come! We must leave! The Guard are here!" I followed the mare who claimed to be my sister out of instinct. I galloped behind her as fast as my legs could take me, realizing that I was no longer a pegasus, either. We emerged from the back door of the house to fire and death. Whoever these "Guards" were, they were taking no prisoners. I followed my sister away from the fires and screams, retreating into the night. We ran and ran and ran, and I didn't even know what we were running from. I looked behind me, and saw billowing smoke and the firelight from the burning town behind me. Suddenly, I ran into somepony. I fell to the ground and looked up. I saw a familiar black stallion with a red-and-black mane, with blood red eyes. He held my now-dead sister in his jaws. I was paralyzed with fear, for I gazed upon the only pony I have ever feared. I faced War incarnate.

My head pounded as I awoke slowly. I looked around. I was not at the cottage. I was in a room dominated by the colour pink; the walls, the drapes, the carpet, the ceiling, the dressers and even the bed I lay in were all pink. I blinked, with the pains beginning to subside as my eyes adjusted. Suddenly, a pink mare popped into the room. She was a unicorn with a bright pink coat, bright blue mane, and green eyes. _'Green eyes… green eyes… why does that set off warning flags?'_ She balanced a tray of wheat cakes and orange juice on her back, along with a small shot glass of a familiar red fluid. _'Uhh… this damn hangover… why does this all seem so wrong?'_

The pink mare whom I haven't even seen in town placed the tray in front of me. She then proceeded to give me the shot. I shed a tear as the liquid passed my gullet. _'OHHOLYSWEETLUNAWAKEUPJUICEOHHEAVENLYHELLITBURNSSO BADOHKILLMENOWMYBRAINISONFIREWHYISITASHOT'_ I shook off the burning sensation in my frontal lobe as she began to feed me like a foal. Something about this whole thing seemed wrong. It seemed familiar… yet alien. She fed me my wheat cakes and left as quickly as she arrived. A few minutes later, she stepped back into the room. She lay down next to me, eyes gleaming. She then said:

"So, hon; did you have fun last night? I did." She then smiled a _nasty_ smile. Then the Wake-Up-Juice kicked in and the puzzle pieces clicked into place.

"Whitewash… did we… last night?" The pink mare in front of me giggled before her horn lit up, changing her back into the crème mare I know.

"Of _course_ not. I brought you back here because I knew you would likely get with some drunk mare and _catch_ something. I _am_ your bodyguard… unless you forgot." I scrunched my nose in frustration before getting off the bed. I moved towards the door, and Whitewash moved in front of me with uncanny speed, blocking my exit.

"Ah-ah!" she teased, "No visiting the bride before the wedding. It's bad luck." I snorted in her face.

"I was headed to the cottage for my suit, and to prepare for the wedding. Spike said she would be at the boutique. I also need to make sure Angel hasn't destroyed the cottage." Whitewash rolled her eyes.

"I will go for you. Stay here, _your highness_. It's in your best interest. And don't worry; we can get you all ready here. Plus, I already talked to Twilight. The wedding is going to be at town hall. We have everything covered."

"Security?"

"Taken care of."

"Has my sister arrived?"

"She's at the reception now."

"Any other guests I should know about?"

"Practically everypony in town will be there. This is going to be the first wedding in Ponyville in _decades_." I rolled my eyes. _'Great. As if I needed any more attention.'_

"Very well. I shall wait here, _captain_." She flicked her head and walked out, closing the door behind her. I moved around the suite. It was surprising spacy, having a full kitchen, living room, bedroom, dining room, and bathroom. I also found there was an indoor pool. It occurred to me that the "suite" likely took up the entire upper floor. It may have been normally reserved for royal visits… It also occurred to me that she likely used the cover of foreign royalty, with her armour and vast wealth. Oh well.

I was in the pool when the front door opened. I got out and began to dry myself, but Whitewash entered the room before I could finish. I was still a bit damp, and she commented on it:

"Mmm… I never noticed how muscular you are, Red Storm. Now I'm kinda wishing I _did_ take advantage of you last night." I gave her a dark stare, and she promptly shut up, leaving the room quickly. I finished drying myself, and made my way back into the living room, surprised to find another stallion waiting there. He was a light brown stallion with a sandy-blonde mane. He wore a black undershirt with an olive drab combat vest, and wore dark-tinted sunglasses. About his waist was an incredibly rare firearm, likely a relic of the older times when gunpowder was more widely used. He gave me a wave and a "Hello, my friend!" in a thick accent before moving to the kitchen, presumably to find something to eat. I turned to Whitewash who was waiting on the couch.

"Who the devil is that?" I asked the crème mare. She merely scoffed.

"That's Glock. He's old friend of mine, and I asked him to supervise the wedding. He is a master marksman, and he has saved my life more than once. Don't worry about it." I nodded slowly. Suddenly, there was a gunshot. I was deafened by the noise, and looked to the kitchen. There, Glock stood over a gunned-down watermelon. I heard him mumble "I really hate watermelons." I looked back to Whitewash, who just gave me a "sorry" look. On the coffee table was my suit, neatly folded and ready for wear.

"Very well then… let's get ready. The wedding is in a few hours, and we have no time to spare."

I arrived at the town hall building at a quarter to eight o'clock. The sun was setting, and so I looked myself over once more. I was satisfied with my appearance. The wind from flying had hardly ruffled my suit (which I did not really care for) and I was early for the sermon. Good. Now, just to go…in…side…

_'Come on, you coward. It is your wedding day. You have come farther than I ever expected from you, so don't chicken out now.'_

_ 'Silence, damn you. I am fine. Just… fine.'_

I stepped into the town hall building with my heart in my gut, and vise versa. I was so nervous it hurt. Like, physically, it hurt. My chest hurt, and I was blaming the stress. I looked around, and the reception was packed. Ponies to the left of me… ponies to the right of me… ponies in front of me… and the ceaseless prattling of dozens. I found my sister in the masses of the technicolour ponies, who was chatting up a stallion who looked deathly afraid of her. She was rather oblivious to this fact, and didn't even notice my arrival until I tapped her shoulder. The moment she turned to face me, the stallion ran off into the crowd.

"Brother! My, my, you look dashing!" I looked down at my suit. Indeed. I wore a white suit with a red tie. One might say that it looked odd contrasting my coat, but I thought it was fairly nice. It had some minor stitching patterns along the coat and the like, but it didn't really matter to me. What I found interesting was that it had blood ruby studs in the buttons and cufflinks, likely costing a small fortune on Rarity's part. Oh well. Element of Generosity, right?

"Thank you, sister. I am excited and nervous for the wedding. It begins in what, twenty minutes? This is going to be the biggest event of my life." My sister nodded. I then noticed that she was wearing a Sanguinary dress; it was a deep red in color with velvet additions. It had blood rubies all over it, along with a gold-and-blood ruby collar clip. She reminded me of one of Dracula's brides. No wonder she couldn't find a stallion who wasn't scared senseless of her. She was intimidating _me_. Suddenly, Rarity ran up to me.

"Red Storm! Oh, my! You look marvelous dear! I am happy to say that Fluttershy is ready. I cannot say that I… agree with her choice of wedding attire, but I tried to make it as presentable as possible.

"Huh? What do you-"

"I'm sorry, I really must go, and I have other things to do last second…" She then dashed off to the other side of the room. Then Twilight Sparkle appeared.

"Oh! Good to see you made it. We need to get ready to start the ceremony… I need to get together all the bridesmares and assemble at the altar. See you there!" And without another word, she disappeared. I get that this is a big day, but damn. Can't anypony just string more than three sentences before disappearing?

There was a loud horn signal that got everypony's attention. Then, the ponies began to file to their seats. I guess this is it. I started for down the aisle.

"Are you ready, brother? You look nervous."

"You don't say?" I said rather sarcastically, giving her a dumb look. My sister scowled, but said nothing. I stepped past her, and up to the altar. It just occurred to me then and there, that I had never met her father. Would he be walking her up the aisle? My question was silently answered as organs began to play the "here comes the bride" song. I was not prepared for what came next. I saw Fluttershy walk through the Gathering Hall doors, but she was not wearing your standard gown. She wore a gown of rose petals and velvet, which trailed behind her in an eerie way. The dress was also spattered with red patterns that looked a lot like some pony got butchered over the dress. It was also studded with dozens of blood rubies along the breast of the dress, and they sparkled like droplets of blood. Her veil was a dark red, hiding her blue eyes, and her wreath was made of rose vines. In her mouth she carried a bouquet of white roses… The standard Sanguine Kingdom wedding gown. I was horrified to say the least, and it showed. My mouth was agape, and I had to force myself to shut it before anypony noticed. Not that anypony would, seeing as they all had the same reaction as me, staring. Fluttershy had some sort of newfound courage, as she barely paid any attention to the ponies staring at her. I couldn't take my eyes off of her though. I was honestly surprised. A Sanguine proposal is one thing, but a Sanguine wedding?... It would explain why her father is not by her side… But I don't see anypony who resembles her in the crowd. I then spotted Angel in the front row, in a tuxedo, making another rude hand gesture. _'Watch yourself, you little bastard. I'm gonna be here until you die and after.'_ Strangely, he reacted as if I had said that out loud, his eyes going wide.

She stepped up to the altar and took her place by my side. I saw that all of the bridesmares _and_ groomscolts were staring at her. Something in my head went *click* and I realized that according to tradition, _I_ was the one to remove her veil. I did so, revealing her beautiful blue eyes once more. They looked into mine, almost pleading, as if she was saying: _'I'm sorry. Are you ok with this?'_ I nodded slowly and looked at the pony who was holding the sermon. I was surprised when I realized that it was the Princess of Love herself. _'Of course. Shining Armor is here, why wouldn't his wife be here too?'_ Princess Cadance seemed unfazed by Fluttershy's apparel. I'm sure she had seen worse. The princess unfurled her wings, and began:

"Today we join this lovely couple as they come together in holy matrimony. To live together through thick and thin, sun and rain, illness and health. To love each other under any and all circumstances over any distance…" I could have sworn Cadance shot a look at Shining Armor then, but perhaps I was mistaken, as I was still gazing into my bride's eyes. The princess then looked at me.

"Red Storm:" I broke the gaze to face the princess. "Do you take Fluttershy to be your lawfully wedded wife, until death do you part?"

"I do."

"Fluttershy, do you take Red Storm to be your lawfully wedded husband, until death do you part?"

"I… do."

"Then by the power invested in me by the Princesses of the Sun and Moon, I pronounce you husband and wife! You may kiss the bride!" I looked to Fluttershy, and before I could react, she pulled me into a kiss.

"Or, perhaps, the bride may kiss the groom, I suppose." Cadance quickly offered. The two of us quickly broke the kiss, and while Fluttershy was blushing, I swept her up with one foreleg and seated her on my back. I unfurled my wings and started galloping down the aisle.

"Come everypony, the after party awaits!" I once again received cheers. Somehow I get that a lot from this crowd. Glock bucked open the doors and I leaped over him, screeching to a halt as I landed.

"I'm sorry, dear. I never let you throw your bouquet!" Fluttershy looked down at her hooves, before throwing the bouquet directly at the bridesmares. It flew over the fighting mares' heads and landed right in Twilight Sparkle's outstretched hooves. I could see her blush from where I was standing, but I did not stand for long. I quickly made my way back to the reception area, where Pinkie Pie had set up a party right after we had left the room. I have said it before, and I will say it again. She is the spawn of Discord.

I set Fluttershy down, and we walked side-by-side to the massive cake made by the Cakes. It was five tiers tall, and on the top were two wedding cake ornaments depicting Fluttershy and I. I jumped up, and using an old wing-slash technique cut the cake in one swift movement. I took a plate and placed one slice on it for Fluttershy and me to share. I left the rest of the cake to the other ponies. Fluttershy and I moved to the steps of the town hall to enjoy our cake, and to gaze upon the now-night sky. The stars twinkled as we took turns feeding the cake (which I discovered to be red velvet, my favorite) to each other. We could hear everypony partying inside, but paid little attention to that. Soon, we finished that slice of cake together and were simply sitting side-by-side, Fluttershy with her head resting on my shoulder. Suddenly, I hear music start inside, and I immediately jump up.

"Fluttershy… do you hear that sound?" She cocked an ear towards the window. It sounded like a bunch of tone-deaf ponies attempting karaoke.

"Yes… Why?"

"I must go."

"What?"

"Inside. I must perform, and give those ponies a lesson in music." Fluttershy simply nodded with a rather confused as I moved inside.

Inside, my worst fears were confirmed. Drunken ponies were using a karaoke machine. This was absolutely unacceptable. I made my way through the crowd, and stepped up to Pinkie Pie, and whispered a favor in her ear. She looked excited, and left the room for a moment. Just as soon as she left, the lights shut down, and the karaoke stopped. There were gasps, but I knew what to expect. When the lights came back on, there was an entire stage in the center of the room where the karaoke machine was, and there was a group of ponies who were rather confused to be there. The two who were obviously the lead band members looked about, wondering how they got there. One was yellow with a brown mane and green eyes. The other was blue with a red mane and orange eyes. Pinkie Pie bounced up to the stage, and whispered a few things to them, and they immediately nodded and got ready. I leaped up to the stage and picked up a microphone. As the guitars started up, I began:

"_There's a chance that I could fall,_

_And not come back,_

_And never regret a thing,_

_I'd never get back on track._

_Darkness all around me,_

_I can't find the light,_

_I let all surround me,_

_Giving up without a fight."_

Now, Fluttershy stepped inside, having heard me begin to "rock out". As soon as she stepped close enough, Pinkie Pie pointed the spotlight on her.

"_The bitterness and pain inside,_

_Countless tears I had to cry,_

_I was facing all my fears,_

_Just to let you in to dry my tears, but_

_Your kindness won't betray me,_

_I feel your heart and soul!_

_Your kindness still can save me,_

_I choose to not let go!_

_Stretching out you somehow reach me,_

_I know this can't be wrong!_

_I'm ready won't you teach me,_

_Your song of kindness?"_

The whole time I sang, she simply stared and listened. When I was finished with the rest of the song, I dropped the microphone, leapt off the stage, and swept up Fluttershy while everypony cheered at my performance.

"It is time for our honeymoon, dear. Come." I plopped her on my back and opened my wings. I started galloping for the door, and smashed my way through, taking flight as I did so.

"What about saying goodbye? You just left without a word!"

"Bah! We will see them tomorrow! I want to get home _now_."

We arrived home in a new record time (13.4 seconds) and I landed with a quake. I pulled the key from under the doormat, quickly unlocked the door, and kicked it open. Nopony was inside, which was just how I wanted it to be. I carried Fluttershy upstairs and set her down on the bed.

"Now then allow me to remove this damnable suit. It has been constricting me all day long." As I began to undo the tie, Fluttershy got up.

"I should probably get out of my dress, too. Give me a moment…" she trotted downstairs, likely to the bathroom, and left me alone in the room. When I was done getting my suit off, I laid down on the bed to wait for my new bride.

_'Ah, yes… Things are looking up, if I do say so myself.'_ I closed my eyes and waited. Suddenly, I heard a rather seductive voice whisper from in front of me:

"Are you ready for some _fun_, honey?" I slowly cracked open one eye, but both quickly flew open from the sight I saw.

Even in the dim moonlight I could clearly see that Fluttershy was wearing her "gift" from Whitewash. It was a skin-tight leather suit that gleamed in the light. She wore a facemask that covered her head excluding her eyes and mane. Her tail flowed out from behind her as well, and the pink contrasted the black in a… interesting way. She stood on her hind legs, and was carrying a pair of hoofcuffs in one hoof, a gag in the other, and she had a whip slung over her shoulder.

"Oh myy…" was all I could say before she tackled me. It was to be one hellova honeymoon.


	34. Act III Transition

Act III-IV Transition

Hi Everypony! Me and my co-author are doin' this one _together_! We have really come a long way, huh? Thirty chapters plus extras? Not to mention the _dozens_ of references we've made… Isn't that right?

Yup! But enough of our chatter! You there, reader! You better put on a helmet so that you don't make a mess when we _blow your mind_. Ok, moving on.

-The Green Monster; By Gerard de Nerval-ch21- A cheery tale about a devil child born from the devil drink… sound familiar?

-How I Met Your Mother-ch21- It's gonna be legen-wait for it- DARY!

-Tom Clancy- Se-cret A-gent Mare!

-Borat-ch21- This reference is very nice, yes?

-Samurai Jack-ch21- A long time ago, in a distant land, I; Aku made a reference in a pony fic.

-Powerpuff Girls-ch22- Come on, man! If you missed this, you had no childhood!

-Desperado-ch22- Come on. Spike freakin' yells it out loud.

-Star Wars-ch23- What does Akbar say to sketchy space battles?

-Robot Chicken-ch23- Scotch, motherbucker. Drink it.

-Hellsing-ch23- The manga/anime, not the western movie. But seriously… _Alucard_?

-The Dark Tower (again)-ch23-Not so much as a reference as a nod. We used riddles for this contest from the story, and the contest was inspired by it also. Choo-choo. _Choo-Choo_.

-James Bond-ch23- I personally think that Doctor Hooves' costume sounds a bit like a certain someone, doesn't it? A tux, bowtie, and well-groomed hair...hmm? Britmane flag, anyone?

-All I Want for Christmas is You; By Mariah Carey-ch24- It's actually a three-part reference across the three Heart's Warming chapters. Should be rather easy to find.

-Van Gough-ch24- _*Note to self: A severed ear is not a very good gift.*_

-Internet Memes-ch24- Get that filly a hydra head. Fillies _love_ hydra heads.

-Greek Mythology; Adamant- An supposedly indestructible metal, once recognized as diamond, now known by geeks and nerds as the stuff that is laced into Wolverine's skeleton.

-The Punisher-ch24- You know, I always wondered… sure, he's got a shit-ton of body armor under his outfit, but what about his head? Someone could just cap him one between the eyes, and the "mighty Punisher" would be kaput. Either way, this one is a slight nod to that little oddity.

-Linkin Park-ch24- In between Red Storm's capture and madness, this quote from a Linkin Park song resides. I just told you what song.

-Star Wars (again)-ch24- Good… let the references flow through you…

-Warhammer 40k-ch24- Do _you_ hear the voices _too_? Yes… I _feel_ the _madness_ overtaking me… it is a _good_ pain.

-Shrek-ch25- If you have ever seen Shrek, then this reference needs no explanation. If you haven't, then screw you.

-Marvel Zombies-ch25- Didn't you think that the usage of "people" was weird?

-Rainbow Factory-ch25- "Ok, everypony! We need to work double-time here! Canterlot needs three rainbows by tomorrow, and we have a whole shipment of ponies to go through! After all, spectra doesn't grow on clouds!"

-Medieval Culture; The Danza Macabra-ch25- The beautiful Dance of Death… a ballet of blood and gore.

-Within Temptation-ch25- Not so much of a reference as something that we just sort of snuck in there as a tribute to one of our favorite bands.

-The Matrix-ch25- "Take the red pill, you stay in wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes."

-100 Years; Five for Fighting-ch27- A salute to a beautiful song about love, loss, and life.

-Sleeping Beauty-ch27- Not a "real" reference, but I had the story in mind when I called Fluttershy a "sleeping beauty" here. Oh well.

-French Language-ch27- Holy shit! An actual meaningful reference! Not so much. The translation for Red Storm's foreign exclamation is just above.

-Harry Potter-ch27- Oh, yes. The unforgivable curses. The torturous curse, the controlling curse, and the killing curse.

-Iron Chef America-ch27- TODAYS SPECIAL INGREDIENT IS: VAUGE REFERENCES!

-Rick Astley-ch28- Come on. If you didn't recognize this one, you do not belong on the internet.

-Lady and the Tramp-ch28- Spaghetti and meatballs. The classic romantic meal.

-50 Shades of Grey-ch28- Don't read it. It's horribly written and the plot is stupid. You're better off with fapfics. Oh, and did you know there are over 50 variety of hay? (Not really)

-Shrek-ch28- Hold the phone… another Shrek reference?

-Abrahamic Religion; "Fallen Angels"-ch28- Another slight nod to medieval/renaissance culture.

-Saturday Night Live; All things Scottish-ch29- Ok, first off, I could not find the bloody clip to save my life. I _did_ however find the name of the clip. I donno… it's still funny damn it!

-WTF Brain? Meme-ch29- Hey man, I would say the same thing if I started drifting off thinking about colts… GAH WTF BRAIN?!

-Alan Rickman-ch29- You missed this reference, didn't you? Your father would have made the same mistake.

-24-ch29- The following takes place between I-don't-care-anymore, and I-wanna-go-to-bed-now.

-White Wedding; Billy Idol-ch30- Hey Billy Idol, what have you done? Hey Billy Idol, can't stop humming this… and the only way it's coming out… is with a shotgun to the head.

-FPS Russia-ch30- Those watermelons are some serious trouble.

-Charge of Light Brigade; By Lord Tennyson Alfred-ch30- References to the left of me, nods to the right of me, critiques in front of me…

-"You Don't Say?" Meme-ch30- This is an easy one to find.

You: "You don't say?"

-Kindness; By AcoustiMandoBrony-ch30- One of their best songs to date; look it up on Youtube. I own nothing.

-George Takei-ch30- We've reached the end of the list? Oh myy…

Well, that's a wrap everyone! Every reference in Act III! If you found more than five, good work! More than ten, even better! If you found them all, you should probably re-think your life. See you soon, everybody! And don't forget to comment and vote if you are enjoying my story!


	35. Just Another Day

Ch. XXXI:

Just Another Day

I bucked again. Upon making contact, the tree shuddered, and the apples fell from above, one landing atop my head. I counted the numbers of the red fruit. Thirteen. _'Hmm… it appears my powers _have_ been waning. Either that, or I am horrible at bucking apples.'_ I was certain it was the former.

"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll get the hang of it. It's tricky, 'cause you're a pegasus, but I doubt that will hold you back fer long!" The orange farm mare cheered me on, but to no avail. She was still bucking down at _least_ twice as many apples as I ever could. At least, now. A few months ago, I could have pummeled a mountain to dust. Now, I couldn't buck down this tree even if I wanted to. Something is wrong.

"Ok. I will keep trying." And I did, until it was high noon. By then, Applejack and I had bucked half of the harvest, but there was still a lot to do. It felt good to be helping a friend. Perhaps I should visit Twilight, or Rarity, or Pinkie even. I haven't seen much of Rainbow Dash, but if the weather has been clear, like it is, I would expect that she has simply been working far too hard to have time for me. Applejack trotted up to me with some lemonade and a coinpurse.

"Thanks for all of yer hard work Red Storm. You really didn't have to help, but here. Mac and I will finish today." I looked at her sideways, before waving off the money.

"Thank you, but no thank you. I just wanted to help as a friend. We hardly ever spend time together, so I thought I would help out. I should be thanking you for teaching me how to apple buck. It is a very useful skill to have… Even despite myself being a pegasus. I would, however, enjoy a glass of that lemonade." She passed me the glass and I drank it down in one gulp. Satisfied, I handed it back to her.

"Well, alright then. If yer headin' out, tell Fluttershy I said 'hi'." I nodded and gave a final wave before spreading my wings and taking off. Admittedly, I was rather sore from all the work I had done today. It has been far too long since I had a real workout. I flew back home, intent on taking a shower, as I would rather be cleansed of my filth before I meet anypony else.

I touched down gently in front of the cottage where Fluttershy and I still lived together; only now, in matrimony. I trotted inside and nuzzled my wife, who was helping a family of birds.

"Good afternoon, my love. How have you been doing?"

"Well. I am helping the birds today. Lunch is on the table, if you want to eat… Oh! And the Cutie Mark Crusaders will be staying the night tonight… if that's ok." I gave her a gentle smile.

"Of course it's ok. I love the little ones. Though, I must remember not to tell such a scary tale next time. They were shivering for weeks afterward." I paused, looking at the rose sandwich on the table. "Ah, yes. And thank you for lunch, love. I will eat it after I take my shower. I am about as ripe as one of Applejack's apples." Fluttershy giggled and gave me a quick peck on the cheek before I moved toward the bathroom.

About ten minutes later I emerged from the shower looking for a towel. I found one hanging on the door, and promptly dried myself off. I looked in the mirror of the bathroom, and examined my own face. Over the course of the last few months, it looked like I had aged years. My features were no longer as soft as before, and wrinkles had formed along my brow. I shook off the feeling of old age and exited the bathroom once more with a towel about my neck and a hunger that could devour a world. I quickly made my way into the kitchen, but Fluttershy was not there. My sandwich, however, was. I sat down and ate quietly. At least, out loud. In my mind, I thought as I munched on the delicious treat.

_'Mmm… This is a pretty good sandwich…'_

_ 'Of course it is. Fluttershy made it.'_

_ 'Still good. I was famished.'_

_ 'You know what they say. Hunger is the best sauce.'_

_ 'Shut up and let me eat.'_ Silence. I finished up, and rose.

"Ok, now we go and visit… uhh… Who should I visit?" Suddenly, Pinkie Pie popped out of a nearby jar, defying all laws of space. She looked past me, seemingly into space.

"Hi everypony! Who should Red Storm visit today? He can visit A) Rarity, B) Twilight Sparkle, or C) Rainbow Dash!" She paused, as if waiting for a response. I looked at her sideways, wondering how she could have possibly fit into the jar she was emerging from. She looked as if she was missing everything below the chest, and was resting on top of the jar, like some sort of-

"Great idea! Red Storm _should_ visit Rarity!" She then looked straight at me. "Red Storm, the bronies want you to visit Rarity. You have to listen to them." I was even more confused.

"What the devil is a "brony"? Are you intoxicated?" She shook her head in response.

"Nope! Just _really_ good at ripping holes in reality. Bye!" She then sucked herself back into the jar. At this point, I didn't even check because I knew nothing would be there.

"Perhaps… Perhaps I _should_ go see Ms. Rarity. I haven't spoken to her in so long, after all."

_'Yes… good idea… I wonder if her horn has re-grown…'_

I paused. _'Re-grown…? But… I didn't actually smash her horn, did I?'_ I shook away the thought. Of course I didn't… right? Yes, most certainly; if I had, she would be dead, too. I think.

I made my way to the door, trying to figure out what was real and what wasn't. Dementia is something I did _not_ need right now. I decided that there was no way of being sure unless I checked, so I made that another reason to visit. Before I could leave, however, Fluttershy came prancing downstairs and called for me.

"Hmm? Ah, uh… is there something you need, love?" I said, still half-occupied trying to sort out my second set of memories.

"I wanted to ask you if…" She paused and looked at me with worry. "What's wrong? You have that look again." I realized I was making my "Buried in thought" face again.

"I was thinking… about my time in the Eternal Night again. I still have nightmares, you know. Is Rarity still alive? I really can't remember…" Fluttershy's look of worry became one of fear.

"Yes… she's still alive, Red Storm. She and I went on our weekly spa treatment yesterday… remember?" I racked my brain. _'Yes… now I remember. She is well.'_

"Ah yes, thank you Fluttershy. Can't fathom how I had forgotten something so important in such little time." I turned to leave, intent on checking myself (you can never be too sure… ponies lie, after all) when Fluttershy stopped me again.

"Red Storm… are you ok? You're not acting like yourself anymore. You've been rather 'out of it' for the last several weeks now. Do you need to talk?" I swallowed a feral growl rising in my throat before answering:

"Yes, of course my love. I am well… just tired. After all, I can't get much sleep from my nightmares. On that note, did you ever realize how deep of a sleeper you are? I woke up screaming one night and you were still fast asleep." Fluttershy now wore a very concerned look. Should not have said that.

"Woke up screaming? That's not healthy, Red Storm. If your nightmares are as bad as you say they are, then you should talk about it. Perhaps write a letter to Princess Luna for help." _'Write a letter to the Princess? Perhaps… No. There is nothing wrong. Besides, I am sure she has much more important things to attend to.'_

"Ok, I will keep that in mind. Perhaps I will have Spike send it for me." Fluttershy appeared to accept this answer, but continued to eye me as I left the house. I closed the door behind me, waving before spinning around. I heard something move in the underbrush, followed with movement. I tasted the air. Nothing on the wind, but I could I have sworn I saw something. _'Must have been my imagination…'_

I trotted down the dirt road towards Ponyville. Every minute or so, I would see something out of the corner of my eye, or hear something. But when I looked around, nothing was near. I was beginning to become a bit paranoid, if not maddened by this constant pestering. I hurried my pace as I entered the town. By now, I was pretty damn sure somepony or some_thing_ was following me. I just was never fast enough to catch a glimpse of it. I _will_ catch it. Whatever _it_ was. Where was I headed? Ms. Rarity's home. Of course. I began to gallop towards the Boutique as the noises and glimpses began to become more repetitive. I was almost expecting something to stab me in the back. I flew by the townsponies, including Miss Doo and The Doctor who tried to wave, but I failed to notice them. I arrived shortly, and only when I arrived and entered the Boutique did the thought cross my mind that I could have flown here. Oh well. I entered the building as fast I could without seeming unbecoming, seeking solace from my tormentor. Rarity was currently working on a long, flowing blue dress. I paid that little attention however, as my stress was beginning to swell, and I could feel my grip on my sanity slowly slipping. _'This is not normal, even for me. Why, after all this time, am I finally losing my mind? After everything…'_

_'Because you are beginning to realize that you are twisting fate.'_

These words in my mind clicked something in the back of my head, like a door unlocking. I expected more to follow, but none came, so I did not linger on them for long. At this point, Rarity had noticed my arrival and was walking towards me.

"Hello Red Storm! It's been almost three weeks since I last saw you! I was beginning to think something dreadful had happened to you!" I scanned the white unicorn. Horn? Check. Intact skull? Check. Alive and well? Double check. _'Good. I can rest easy now… for now…'_

"Oh, things have been quite pleasant being wedded with Fluttershy. I am sorry that I have not made time to visit. My husbandly duties keep me very busy." I felt a twinge of regret as the words passed my lips. I'm not one to kiss and tell, but hey, it's true. I haven't slept a full night since she and I had married, and it's only gotten worse because of my nightmares… despite her shyness, she can be very… assertive.

"Oh, that's fine dear. I have been quite busy myself," responded Rarity, seemingly oblivious to my quip. "I have been getting a rather unusual number of orders lately, and I can't help but admit that I am actually falling behind. I still have to make several more dresses by tomorrow." Her cheeks turned red, admitting that she was not meeting her own standards. Another brain-click.

"Say, Rarity, would you like some help with your dresses? I have more than a little bit of knowledge involving fashion. I was considered the "most fabulous" of the nobles in the west. Now that I think about it, I kinda wish I had my clothes with me. Especially my suits…" Rarity's attention was officially caught.

"You know fashion? I would never have guessed! I suppose I could use a few more hooves around here, seeing as Sweetie Belle isn't here to help…" A wave of relief washed over me, as now I had something to help keep my sanity for a while longer. The mines were closed down due to a cave-in, and aren't expected to be re-opened for quite some time. I needed something to do, and this was perfect.

"Can you sew, dear? I have a machine-"

"I am quite capable of using a machine or needle. But, let us not dwell on the details, let us make some _dresses!_"

_...Three hours later…_

Together, over the course of three hours, Rarity and I had completely polished off her order of dresses. We had created a total of forty-three artisan dresses and suits. They were all sizes, shapes, colours, fits, and styles. I loved making clothing. _'Perhaps I should take up the career… no I shouldn't. I would hate to be competition for Miss Rarity… Why do I still call her "Miss" Rarity? Not like she's older than me.'_ I shook away the thought. Then another popped into my head: _'Why do I always shake my head to rid myself of a thought? It's pointless…'_ I just stop thinking about it this time, avoiding the head-shaking. Where was I? Ah, yes. Saying goodbye to Mi- _just_ Rarity.

"Well… I suppose that's everything, huh? I think we did a good job. I personally like the dress we made with the sapphires. Very pretty, and an excellent idea of yours." Rarity waved me off.

"Oh, don't be so modest dear. You were able to turn that muddy brown mess of an outfit over there into something simply _fabulous_. I think a good portion of the credit should go to you as much as me. Thank you for all of your help with these orders; I don't know what I would have done without you!" I blushed.

"I'm certain you would have figured something out. After all, I am not nearly as fashionable as _you_." Now it was the unicorn's turn to blush.

"Well, either way, it was fun having you here today, and I thank you for all of the work you have done for me… are you sure you do not need compensation? After all, you did so much for me…"

"Ah-ah-ah! I will not hear of it! I help friends in need, no questions asked! And certainly no reward is needed!" Rarity looked a bit upset at my turning down of her reward, but she said nothing. I started for the door.

"Anyway, it has been fun. Perhaps we can do this again sometime." Rarity nodded excitedly.

"Oh, yes! Most certainly! I would love to have you help around again! There is only so much Spike can do, after all."

"Very well! I may stop by again sometime later this week. Again, it has been quite fun, but I must leave now. Take care!" I waved as I exited, and Rarity waved back as she closed the door behind me. I started my walk home, but kept my wit about me. That stalker may still be lurking about… _'These evasive tactics remind me of San-… Don't think about him.'_

I made my way home as the sun began creeping towards the horizon. I had spent far longer at the Boutique than I had anticipated. Oh well. I hope Fluttershy has been ok all alone.

A few minutes of trotting along, I arrived at the bridge leading to the cottage, but something was… off, to say the least. There was a racket from inside the cottage. I flew up to the door, and prepared to fight. When I opened the door, however, I was assaulted by three young fillies. They tackled me backward, and I couldn't help but laugh. It was adorable, and I really envied them for their youth. Meanwhile I am serious, and stern about life. *Sigh* I am a sad mess of a stallion.

"My, my! I forgot you were spending the night tonight! Hello little ones! I have missed your company." The fillies just cheered in delight as we headed back inside. Fluttershy was again in the kitchen, preparing dinner. I assumed she hadn't heard my entrance, so I tried to calm the fillies, to no avail. Throwing that idea away, I decided to greet my wife. I snuck up behind her and covered her eyes with my hooves. I heard a faint gasp, but she quickly relaxed as I gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Good evening, love. All has been well, I hope?" She turned around and embraced me in a full kiss.

"Why wouldn't it be? I have had a nice day today. How was your visit to Rarity?" I thought.

"Peachy. What's for dinner?"

"Something."

"I hope something is a type of food."

"You'll be getting two types of something tonight," Fluttershy said with a wink.

"… Not in front of the fillies, dear."

She gave me another wink before turning her attention back to the food. I moved back into the living room where the fillies were wrestling about something trivial. I clopped my hooves together twice and they stood at attention.

"It has come to my attention that you are looking for your Cutie Marks, yes?" The triplet shook their heads in unison, with eyes of wonder.

"Well then, I suppose you would like to know where I got my Cutie Mark, eh?" Again, the shaking of heads.

"Well, seeing as dinner will not be ready for some time, I suppose I will have to tell you. Sit down, and let me tell you. Of the day that I received my Cutie Mark…"


	36. My Blooded Destiny

Ch. XXXII:

My Blooded Destiny

"Ah… yes… I remember that fateful day, as if it had happened just yesterday… nay, as if it was today. It began as any other day. The same routine I had experienced for a solid decade. Indeed! I too was a late bloomer! I had gotten _my_ Cutie Mark when I was fourteen. Don't fret. You are still young. I'm sure your talents will become apparent soon. Mine, however, came to be in a rather… cinematic fashion." I paused. I had never told anypony this tale before, and here I was about to share it with a few wide-eyed fillies. I thought, and then continued:

"Dear! Would you like to join us? I am telling a tale that even _you_ have not heard." I saw Fluttershy's head poking out from the kitchen.

"Really? Oh my, well I will _have_ to hear it then. Give me a minute…" I continued, bringing my attention back to the fillies in front of me.

"It was thirteen years ago… I was fourteen. It was a sunny May day. The eighteenth. I had awoken that morning, expecting nothing more than my standard training routine. However, I was surprised by my father with a… special assignment." Fluttershy had now made her way into the living room, and had sat down next to me, looking at me with interest as I continued. I looked quickly at my Cutie Mark. I shuddered from all the memories it brought forth. I looked forward again to my audience.

"But don't let me get ahead of myself. Let be start that day with my awakening."

* * *

"Red Storm! Wake up dear, it's time for breakfast. You father also wishes to speak with you." I was dazed by my mother's voice, but shot up straight at the mention of my father.

"Hmm… What time is it, mother? I fear I may have slept in." My mother was standing in my doorway. At the time, she was my height. Now, I am much taller than her. Her blood-red eyes showed a caring mother, behind a prowess that could decimate an army.

"It is five o' clock, dear. You have not overslept, but your father wanted to speak to you now. I suggest you put on your armour quickly and meet us in the dining hall." I nodded and, my mother left my room, shutting it behind her. I leaped from my bed, flapped my wings once, and landed in front of my armour stand. I stomp my hoof once on the ground, and I hear an "uncloaking" noise behind me. Like clockwork, Whitewash steps up from behind me in her full suit of platemail, her visor down to shield her eyes. I nodded to her, and she began to equip me with my armour using her magic. Once she was done, I cracked my neck and headed outside. Whitewash opened the door for me and closed it behind me. I walked down the large marble halls to the dining hall, anxious to see what my father wanted to see me so early for. Whitewash followed me for a few steps before I heard her magic flare again, and when I looked behind me, she was gone. I was not fooled by the petty illusion as a mere _mortal_ pony would have been. I tasted the air as I walked, and sure enough she was right behind me, invisible and muffled, but certainly there. I made my entrance to the dining hall with Whitewash opening the door ahead of me, to make it seem like they were moving on their own. She repeated the process of closing them again behind me as I made my way to the Great Table. I took my place at the end of the table, across from my father. My sister was already sitting to the right of me, drinking her breakfast. She looked at me, and her eyes glowed a devilish red. I had gotten used to it at this point, however, as I was reminded of the fact that my eyes were exactly the same. This occurred to me as I looked down onto my plate. The polished silver acted as a perfect mirror, and I stared sternly at myself for several minutes before my father cleared his throat, attracting my attention. I moved my gaze to my father, Red Wing, who was sitting at the opposite end of the table, on his throne of skulls of his defeated foes. He wore his golden royal armour and sat, looking my way, his chin resting on his hooves, his hair combed back as always. His blood-red, cat slit eyes burning holes into my very soul. My mother sat to his right. My left. She was in her full purple royal armour, drinking from a golden chalice. I could smell the B-negative from here.

"Good morning, son. I am sorry for having roused you from your slumber so early, but I needed to summon you to discuss… matters of great importance; matters that I feel you can aid in." This was a first. If my father was saying what I _thought_ he was saying, that means that he has an assignment for me. A mission. A task.

"As I am sure you know, I am waging a great war with the lands to the north, against the griffins." I sat up taller, hoping that he was finally going to send me out on the front lines. He continued:

"While the war has been fairing well, and the odds are in our favor, there is significant resistance to the western front. I have decided to lead our forces on one last push towards the griffin capital, and take it in order to end this war." Damn. Oh well. I still wish to know what he needs of me.

"It has, however, come to my attention, that there is an uprising to the south. An uprising that need culling. Apparently, the ponies inhabiting that town are… dissatisfied with the war, and are challenging our authority as their rulers. They need to be re-taught the meaning of loyalty." _'Ah. I see. While not as exciting as waging war on the front lines, this is suitable. Perhaps I will earn my Cutie Mark in the battle to come.'_

"This village has, according to reports, amassed a sizable arsenal, and is making quite a show of themselves. Unfortunately, I cannot spare any soldiers to quell this… rebellion. I _can_ however, send my very own son to do so. I can only afford to send you with a detachment of your choice of our Honour Guard… ten Sanguinaries At most. Is this not clear? You are to kill all opposing forces, be they stallion, mare, or foal. I trust you can accomplish this?" I nodded my head quickly, while retaining my deadpan. "Excellent. Have your chosen guard to me in an hour. You are to rally your troops and be equipped by seventeen hundred hours, before departing at eighteen hundred." Red Wing paused. "And please, do not get any of them killed. It is difficult to train them." I nodded again, and my father left the table, heading for the War Room.

Whitewash uncloaked from behind me, startling a few guards around the room. Even now, after twenty years, they were still not used to her veils. Whitewash took her seat to the left of me. Several chef ponies brought out trays of food, and spread them out in front her and I. They then poured her a glass of white wine and myself a glass of blood. I sipped at it before gesturing for my bodyguard to begin. She nibbled at a carrot before arising.

"Something bothering you, Whitewash?" I asked, perturbed by her strange behavior.

"Not at all. I am merely going to assemble your guard."

"My father told _me_ to. Not you. Sit down Captain. And eat." She obeyed. As she continued to pick at her assorted vegetables, my sister got up from her seat, having finished her chalice of blood.

"I am going to my room for a nap. Father said that we did not need to train, as today was a… _special occasion_." I did not question my older sister, whom moved from the table out into the hall, with two Sanguinary Guards following her. The only ponies left in the room were my mother, Whitewash, and three guards. I was bored, and feeling sadistic.

"You there! Guards!" I caught the attention of the three, who swiftly made their way to my end of the table.

"Yes, my liege?" said the first one, a brown unicorn stallion.

"I want you to fetch me a cleaver from the kitchen. _Now_. He hurried away as I faced the other two.

"You two. Fight each other. First one to spill the other's blood wins." The two guards immediately looked directly at each other before jumping backwards, giving each other space. The one to my left was a Rusty-red Mare and the one to my right was an olive stallion. Both were earth ponies. They dove, ducked, slashed with their daggers and parried. Combat between these two was… interesting. Sanguine guard ponies were well-trained, and it showed. After several minutes, I heard the sweet slicing sound of steel on flesh. I raised a hoof, and both ponies bowed down. The olive stallion had a cut on his foreleg. I waited, and when the third party returned, I clutched the cleaver, and threw it directly into the head of the olive stallion. As he slumped to the ground, I heard the mare whimper.

"What is wrong, guard? You have survived the weak, and have become stronger in the process. Why do you weep?" She looked up to me with watery eyes.

"He… was my lover. I… cut him on the leg so he wouldn't be hurt…" I thought for a moment.

"Unfortunate. However, life is uncaring and cruel. You should know this, as my guard. You are relieved." The mare did not move.

"Why do you sit there and weep? It is unbecoming." She raised her head again.

"He… I… I am to bear his child."

"…"

"…"

"… I said you were relieved, guard." She now rose, and slowly left the room. I turned back to the brown stallion.

"You there. Clean up this mess." He nodded, and left for a mop and bucket. I turned back to Whitewash. She was still deadpan, eating her breakfast.

"Come, Captain. It is time to assemble my honour guard. To the barracks." Whitewash said nothing; she merely opened the door for me and closed it again as I left, leaving my mother alone in the room with the olive stallion.

* * *

"Ok, Captain. I have seen my choices for my honour guard. Let's go round them up." Whitewash just nodded silently. I looked at her cautiously, but moved on towards the soldiers-in-waiting.

"Commandant Sandstrum!" The young, dusty-brown stallion looked up at me from his cot. His green eyes wore a look of worry. I dismissed this for now. He strode up next to me.

"Commandant Tigerheart!" The next stallion in line was a zebra-sanguinary half breed. His brown striped coat and mane were odd, yet intimidating. He was at my side by the time I called for the next pony.

"Second Lieutenant Emerald Flight!" The light green stallion moved to my side, joining his brothers-in arms. His coat was a… unusual colour for a sanguinary, but he was an excellent soldier nonetheless.

"Second Lieutenant Rustwind!" The mare from earlier looked at me, tears still in her eyes. She slowly made her way to my party and all was quiet. I felt no pity for her.

"Sergeant Nightwish!" The dark blue stallion moved from his cot to my side without a peep, nor a single expression. Just a complete deadpan. That was good training.

"Captain Bloodthorn!" The massive red stallion got up from his crushed cot, and trudged towards me. He was nearly twice my height, and almost as strong. He was truly a berserker of old and a worthy addition to my Honour Guard.

"We are going to battle, m'lord?" I paused, not expecting a question from him.

"Yes, Bloodthorn. To battle." He nodded and flumped down next to everypony, causing a slight shudder through the barracks.

"Lieutenant Stardust!" From the corner of the barracks the blind mare looked up. Her eyes were a whitish-blue, and her coat and mane were shades of the same colour. Her horn glowed, and she arose. She slowly made her way to me, and sat down again by my side. Her horn ceased it's glowing then. I had learned years ago that she uses her magic to navigate.

"To the rest of you, we're done here. I turned away and gestured for my honour guard to follow. Then I realized that Stardust was blind. I whistled, and she perked up and followed us silently out of the barracks.

As we entered the armory to prepare, Sandstrum pulled me to the side.

"Red Storm, what are you doing? I thought we agreed we would never fight together. What if something were to happen?" I paused.

"I won't let anything happen to you. Don't worry. We shall live, and share stories of valor together. Don't worry." He bowed his head, almost as if he had lost faith before the battle had even begun. I raised his chin and brought him into a kiss. When we broke apart a whispered one more time: "I will not let _anything_ take you from me." A small smile crept across his face, and I returned my gaze to the rest of my guard who were too busy suiting up to see what had just happened.

"Come on, everypony! We must depart within the hour! Do not dally!" My guard was fully equipped with their armour and ready for war. I nodded my head, and looked to the blind mare.

"Stardust. Take us to the outskirts of the village of Red Falls."

"Right away, m'lord." She spoke softly. Her horn flared brighter than the sun, and we blinked out of existence.

* * *

We re-appeared outside of Red Falls. The sun was setting now. I tasted the air. It rank of death and soot. It smelled absolutely lovely. I looked about, and saw dozens of dead ponies everywhere. Some were impaled on pikes, others burned to death. I noticed that Sandstrum had wrinkled his nose at the smell of burn flesh. That same smell caused a stirring in me. I felt the need to slaughter. I turned back to my detachment.

"All right. I have decided on a plan of action. Bloodthorn, Whitewash, Sandstrum and I will make our way to the town on foot. Nightwish and Emerald Flight will take to the clouds. You will watch for any aerial attackers and for ambushes along the way. Tigerheart, Rustwind, and Stardust will remain here. We cannot afford to risk our unicorns in a frontal assault." Everypony looked at Whitewash, then back at me. I sighed. "Whitewash will be cloaked, and will flank any ground attackers." I paused, glaring at my Honour Guard. "She's also better trained than you lot combined, so you have no need to worry about her." They nodded in agreement, and I made the gesture to "move out". Whitewash phased out of view, and the groups split up to make their way to the town.

As we trotted along, Sandstrum moved to my side to speak to me.

"Red Storm… I think we should talk."

"Now is not the best of times, Commandant." He looked a bit distraught at me referring to him by his rank. I rolled my eyes. "Sorry, but I need to remain professional about this. I need you to return to you formation. He nodded, and said:

"Yes sir, Brigadier sir." That made me twinge, but I pressed on. Now was not the time to allow my love life to impede on my mission.

We walked into the town, and I looked overhead for my two pegasi. Seeing as I could not see them in the clouds, I took it as a good sign. I gestured for my team to stick together. We walked through the abandoned streets, and I found that odd. This was a fairly successful town… why would they be missing…! I spun around, just in time to see the rain of arrows coming down from behind us.

"_GET TO COVER! PREPARE FOR BATTLE!_" We dove into a nearby building through the window, glass shattering as we landed inside. I listened for the hail of arrows to end, and what I heard next frightened me. Hooves. Thousands. Running straight for us. I looked at my team, and grinned.

"Time to shine, everypony. Let us shed their blood in my father's name." They nodded, and I heard a distinctive de-cloaking sound from behind me. Whitewash stood in her full silverette platemail armour with her visor up. Her green eyes were shimmering.

"To battle, War. Time to do what you do best." I half-snarled at her remark, half grinned at her enthusiasm.

"That's still up for debate." I stepped out of the shelter of the store with my Honour Guard behind me. I saw hundreds of villagers armed with farm tools and instruments of war alike. Some wore armor, and some were unclothed.

_'To battle, War.'_

* * *

_We dashed, we sliced, we crushed, and we immolated._

_ None before us could stand before our combined might._

_ Our battle brothers fell from the sky and brought death from the heavens._

_ The streets ran red with the blood of dozens. Then hundreds. Then countless more._

_ We danced, we laughed, we flew, and we brought death._

_ We were the emissaries of their doom._

_ We were the main event in this Danza Macabra._

The fighting raged on. Some damned fool set fire to the buildings. That's when I noticed ponies were fleeing from the fires. They had been hiding the whole damn time. I broke from the fighting, turning to Whitewash as I took to the skies.

"Whitewash! Finish this battle, and begin to sweep the town! I will pursue those fleeing!" She nodded her head as she impaled a colt on her horn, before returning her attention to the fight. My eyes burned red, as I had been feasting on the blood and death of this village the entire battle. My senses were at their peak, and I detected a pair of ponies fleeing to the woods, in the east of the village. They were a pair among many. They were, however the closest. They were likely unprepared for this battle... warned too late to flee the bloodshed in time. I flew forward at breakneck speeds, and landed as soft as a butterfly into a nearby tree. There, I saw the two fleeing the battle directly below me. I swooped down while the one who was falling behind was looking backward. I landed directly in front of an olive mare with a red mane. Before she could say anything, I swiftly grabbed her neck in my jaws and snapped my head backwards, snapping her neck. As she hang limply from my mouth, the colt who was following her ran into me. He looked up at me, and was absolutely terrified. One word was uttered from his lips.

"War…" I sneered, dropping the mare from my mouth.

"Indeed." I tackled him and wasted no time in burying my teeth into his throat. Blood gushed as I made quite a mess out of the colt. When I was done, the moonlight glistened off of my blood-soaked muzzle, and my blood-red irises. I spread my wings and took flight once more, determined to slaughter every last opposing pony in the area.

And I did.

And I enjoyed every minute of it.

* * *

I returned to my detachment in the city when I was finished with my… hunt. I landed amongst the Sanguinaries, but something seemed off about them. Even in the moonlight, they looked mournful.

"Whitewash! How did you fare? All went well, I hope." The crème mare said nothing, and sat down onto a pile of rubble. Bloodthorn took his place next to her, and kept the same quiet about him.

I looked around. Somepony was missing.

"Where… where is Sandstrum?" Whitewash rose, and walked to my side.

"He… he disappeared amongst the fighting. I saw him overwhelmed by twenty of them. They dogpiled him and I lost sight of him…"

"_DID YOU SEE HIM DIE?_" Whitewash jumped at my reaction. I hadn't told her about my relationship with Sandstrum. I hadn't told anypony.

"I… I… no. I didn't." She stuttered. I had never yelled at her like this before.

"_THEN WHY ARE YOU ALL SITTING AROUND INSTEAD OF LOOKING FOR HIM?_" The mare in front of me backed away slowly. Everypony else was terrified. They knew I could easily kill every one of them if I wanted to, and I _really_ wanted to. All of them immediately got up and began to sift through the thousands of bodies to find him in the darkness of night. I was throwing body after body to the side as we sifted through the dead. We went on like that for hours. Every time somepony began to complain I would beat them into submission, and have them continue their search for my love. This went on for hours. While it takes but a moment to kill a pony, it takes a minute to move and identify them. We only finished as the sun began to break. We never found his body. As I pushed over the last body, and a pair of blue eyes looked back at me, I felt a portion of my soul die.

"My prince, you must see the truth. Sandstrum… he's gone." The goliath of a stallion put his hoof on my shoulder to try and cheer me up. It didn't work. I spun around and punched him in the chest, shattering his carapiece and breaking every rib in his torso. He lay on the ground, coughing up his own blood as I stared at him.

"He's. Not. Gone. We haven't. Found. His body." Whitewash stepped up to me and pulled me into a hug.

"Red Storm… I am sorry… I… I know you loved him. And all I can say is I'm sorry…" Tears welled up and began to flow from my eyes as I cried into Whitewash's armour. Everypony else simply stood and stared. Stardust was the first to speak up.

"Bloodthorn is dying. I never practiced medical magic. We must return to the keep in order to treat his wounds." I looked up, and wiped the tears from my eyes.

"Yes… yes, of course. Let us go now, before the damage is unrepairable." I did not want to leave, but I had to watch over the rest of my detachment that was still alive. I looked down at Bloodthorn.

"I am sorry, Captain. I should not have let my emotions get the better of me. Come. Let us go home." We grouped together and teleported home, back to the keep, leaving the destroyed village forever.

* * *

I returned to my room, dismissing Whitewash to hers. I stood in front of the mirror, and looked into my eyes. They disgusted me. My blood-soaked armour did not help the feeling of self-loathing. I stripped off my armour as fast as I could and began to groom my coat, cleaning it of all the filth; all reminders of my sins.

'_I killed him. I marched him to his death, when I told him he would be safe. I lied to him and betrayed him. I never even recovered his body… Sandstrum… I am sorry.'_ I continued to groom myself in between sobs. When I went to groom my flank, however, I noticed something new. On my flank, was a Cutie Mark of a Sanguine Drop on top of a Golden shield. However, this could not bring me any joy now. No. It is only an eternal reminder of the day I led my love to his doom.

* * *

"Red Storm…" Fluttershy spoke softly. "I… never knew." Even the three fillies before me were silent. This disturbed me even more than the memories.

"Do not despair for me. I don't need it. I am now at peace with myself." This was a lie. I will never be free of those tormenting memories. "After all, I have you, Fluttershy. You have filled the hole in my soul when so many others could not. I am happy again." This, however, was not a lie. "Little fillies… did you enjoy the story?" They looked at each other nervously. Applebloom spoke up first.

"It… was a pretty neat story 'n all… but the ending made me kinda sad." The other two nodded in agreement. I shrugged.

"Oh well. Life can be sad at times. However, if one looks only to the past, or the present, then they are certain to miss the future. I have learned to leave my past behind me. I do not let it bother me anymore than it should." Another lie.

"Well… ok… if you say so," stated the orange filly. Suddenly, there is a loud rumbling. Sweetie Belle blushes.

"Sorry…" I scooped up the white foal and plopped her on my back.

"It sounds like somepony is hungry! _TO THE FEAST!_" I leaped into the kitchen as Fluttershy and the other two fillies followed laughing.

The rest of the night was spent having fun, playing, and enjoying life to the fullest. I wouldn't have traded it for the world.


	37. Moving On

_Author's Mistake: I can't believe myself... Last chapter I had managed to misspell "Sandsturm" as "Sandstrum" throughout the entire chapter. I feel like an ass. Please, forgive me. The name is "SandSturm", German for "Sandstorm"... yes, he's a Germane, not a Sanguinary. Who cares. Anyway, just had to get that off my chest. READ ON, MY PONY THINGS._

Ch. XXXIII

Moving on…

I awoke in my room. Cold stone surrounded me, and I simply stared at the ceiling for several minutes. Yesterday was a great triumph but a great defeat at the same time. My father had given me great praise, and the honor of moving on in my training. However, I could not help but feel empty. Sandsturm is gone, and it is all my fault. I lead him to his death, telling him that we would make it out together. We didn't even recover his body. Something wanted me to desperately believe he was still alive, but I couldn't overcome the feeling of dread in my soul.

_'All your fault… he's DEAD because of you…'_

_ 'No… I didn't kill him.'_

_ 'You promised to protect him. He trusted you. Now you're all alone. And he's rotting in a field of death, waiting for you to find him. You never will. You have failed him, leaving him alone.'_

_ 'Stop… no more…'_

_ 'You killed him.'_

_ 'You killed him.'_

_ 'I… I killed him…'_

The voices in my head taunted me for hours until my father came knocking on my door.

"Son. Come with me. We have things to discuss." I got up out of bed and made my way to his side, and we made our way down the hall.

"Several things have come to my attention, Red Storm. Some things I am more proud of than others." Surely he meant my relationship with Sandsturm.

"I have been alerted by your teammates yesterday that you apparently had a romantic relationship with Commandant Sandsturm. I… cannot say that I approve whole-heartedly, but I can say that I am sorry. You apparently cared for him a great deal, did you not?"

"Yes, father." He looked at me for a second, and I thought I saw woe in his eyes. I dismissed the thought as he continued on.

"In any case, while the loss of the Commandant is a terrible thing, I must add that I admire your work in the field yesterday. I see you take after me when you 'take no prisoners'. That is good. I will aid you in the times to come. Follow me here, I have something special to present to you." I perked up a bit. Whatever this may be, it was surely important. Otherwise, I doubt that father would drag me out of bed so early when I was grieving above all else. He led me into his personal chambers, and together we entered his trophy room. I found it strange that he had his trophy room in his private quarters, where he could not flaunt it. We moved silently past a number of treasures, including skulls, armour, dragon teeth and chalices. When we got to the back of the room, there, in a display case were four suits of armour. Each suit was slightly different, but all kept a very menacing feel to them.

"I-I'm sorry father, but I don't know what I am looking at." Red Wing shook his head, before taking me by the shoulder, and pointing at the suits of armour.

"These, my son, are the legendary suits of armour that were once worn by the Four Horses of the Apocalypse." I was confused, and it showed. Again, my father shook his head before continuing.

"I thought I told you to study these things. The Four Horses of the Apocalypse were warriors of legend. Their combined might was only matched by gods themselves. The Old Gods, to be exact. Before even Celestia, Luna, Cadence and Discord, these Old Gods controlled the very universe as we know it, ranging from the controlling of your dreams to the weather. At some point in ancient history, a group of four mortal ponies were granted a great power by forces unknown. Two pegasi and two unicorns. The two pegasi were granted unlimited combat prowess, being able to exterminate entire armies with a single fell swoop. The unicorns were granted such magical power that they could rend the soul from the body or tear the heavens from the sky. With their newfound power, the Four Horses cut open the world, sinking entire continents with their near unlimited power. The Old Gods saw this destruction being caused by these ponies, and attempted to stop the Horses with divine intervention, acts of holy wrath. A great battle was waged upon the earth, nearly destroying all life as we know it. The Old Gods, pushed to desperation, sacrificed themselves in order to defeat these ponies. After a final act of power, the Old Gods killed themselves in order to stop the destruction of all life as we know it. In his dying moments, the king of the Old Gods scattered the pieces of the Apocalypse Armour, which held the true power of the Four Horses, across the world hoping to prevent such a thing again… It has taken eons of scrounging to bring this ensemble together before you. Ponies, griffon, drake and daemon alike lusted for the power the armour promised, and many have spent generations looking for even hints to their location. By the time our ancestor, Redmane, had risen to power, a great deal of the hidden pieces had been unearthed. It had been but a matter to collect the pieces and find the missing ones. While at great expense of the Kingdom, with much money and lives spent on this grand search, I can safely say that I am missing but a hoofull of pieces. A rivet here, a strut there, and the sets will be complete." My mind was overflowing with information. Old Gods? Horses of the Apocalypse? And my father claims to have all but a few of the pieces of a legendary set of armour? My father chuckled, upon seeing the look on my face. I looked up to him, trying to keep my brain from hemorrhaging from trying to comprehend this.

"Why are you telling me this?" My father smiled devilishly.

"Because, my son. I believe you are nearly ready to ascend from mortality, and into the realm of gods. The Four Horses were named after the destructive forces that come with the Apocalypse. Pestilence, War, Famine, and Death." As he went down the list, he moved his foreleg from left to right, pointing at each respectively. The suits were white, red, black and a pale grey. Each had a few cosmetic differences, such as different horns on each helm, or different pauldrons. Each suit was missing pieces, but overall the set looked nearly complete. Pestilence was missing a knee guard, War was missing a horn, Famine was missing a few ornamental pauldron spikes, and Death was missing several plates along the chest area. My father continued as I examined the suits more thoroughly.

"Your sister would be Pestilence, you would be War, your mother would be Famine, and I would be Death. Together, we would be unstoppable. Even the four New Gods could not stand against us! We could bring the world to its knees! We-" He paused. He noticed my solemn look, indicating that I was in no mood to be talking about more death. He took this, and accepted it.

"Anyway… that was all. You are free to roam for the rest of the day, to grieve. Tomorrow, I want you to begin your next level of training with your mother. Do I make myself clear?" I nodded, and he turned away from me to admire his collection more. I left the room, and moved quickly outside to the gardens. I watched as the greenery blew in the breeze. I lay down amongst them, and closed my eyes. I felt the sun on my face as I drifted off into a restless sleep. One of Sandsturm.

My eyes cracked open to the sun, again, for the ten thousandth time. I looked around the wooden room before searching the bed for my wife. Again, as usual, she was not here. Fluttershy was likely downstairs cooking breakfast. I tasted the air. I smelled the faint aroma of food from downstairs. I found this odd. Normally I would be able to identify breakfast. Oh well. It was better as a surprise anyway. Then, I thought back to my dream. _'Why was I remembering this now? Could it be an omen? Perhaps…'_

I made my way down the stairs, bleary-eyed. The second my hoof touched the ground floor, I was assaulted by the three young fillies who had stayed the night. I couldn't help but laugh, forgetting that they had slept over. I quickly regained my footing while they retreated several steps. I pounced, and they all fled, screaming in mock-terror. When they disappeared out of sight, I made my way to the kitchen. There, Fluttershy was preparing a simple meal of carrots and apples.

"Good morning, love. How long have they been up?" Fluttershy giggled as she turned to me and gave me a kiss.

"They are what woke me up an hour ago. They were in the back yard trying to be 'Cutie Mark Crusader lion tamers.' I'm not really sure when they woke up." I chuckled as I kissed her back and made my way out of the kitchen, intent on finding where the little fillies had gone off to. As I moved through the living room, I saw them leap out from behind the couch at me, wearing toy armor and brandishing plastic weapons shouting: "_FOR CANTERLOT, AND THE TRIANGULAR TABLE!_" I don't even know how they acquired such things. They tackled me and proceeded to prod me with said toy weapons until I lay still, feigning death. We then repeated this cycle of me chasing them, them doing a battle charge, and then slaying me. At some point Angel joined the fray, who then repeatedly killed everypony involved. That is, until Scootaloo used the "Celestial Hoof Grenade." The lot of us played until breakfast was ready, in which we dropped everything and ate. During the meal, we talked and laughed as the Cutie Mark Crusaders recalled their botched attempts to uncover their "Special Talents" which included, but was not limited to; Skydiving, wind surfing, tightrope walking, and fencing. Their costumes (which they neglected to remove) made the whole thing that much more humorous. After breakfast, Fluttershy left to return them home. I stayed home and thought about what I was going to do with myself that day. I did the dishes in silence, and sat down on the couch to think. It was so strange to have the CMC around one minute, and gone the next. It was oh-so-quiet. I decided to brew a pot of tea. It was a special recipe that my mother had taught me. I returned to the couch to let the kettle boil, but then there was a knock on the door. I made my way to the front door, and opened it, not expecting anypony this early in the morning. There stood Miss Doo, as energetic as ever. She looked at me with her wall-eyed stare and a big smile.

"Good morning, Red Storm! Sorry to be bothering you so early!" I waved her off.

"It's no problem at all. Why don't you come in? I have some tea on the stove. Fluttershy is out, and I do so hate to be alone." Ditzy thought for a moment before shrugging.

"Ok! After all, it's not my shift yet. That reminds me! I am actually here to deliver a letter to you!" I cocked my head to one side as she trotted inside.

"You're delivering letters even though it's not your shift?" Again, Ditzy shrugged.

"Yesterday was Sunday. There's no post on Sunday. Anyway, we get all of Monday's mail on Sunday, so we can deliver it at our leisure. I just decided to bring it to you now so I wouldn't have to backtrack later. I actually was planning on coming later, but my clock is one hour fast," she added sheepishly. I nodded, looking the letter over. There was no return address. It just said "To Red Storm" on the front. The hoof writing was ever-so-familiar…

"Yes, well, either way, it is nice to have you. I would say you arrived at an opportune time, seeing as my wife is out. Speaking of spouses; how is life between you and The Doctor? Have you learned his real name yet?" I joked, as I set the letter down on the coffee table. Ditzy perked up and nodded.

"Things have been great between The Doctor and me! Though I am beginning to believe that _is_ his name. He moved in, did I tell you that? Dinky loves him, and the three of us are practically a family! But he still hasn't… uh… proposed yet." Her sheepish grin returned as she pawed at the ground with her foreleg. I waved her off again as I poured the tea, which was now whistling.

"Don't worry! I never proposed to Fluttershy, she proposed to me. Some things take time, and others must be taken with a different approach completely. I'm sure that when the time is right, one of you will wind up asking for the other's hoof." Ditzy rolled her eyes, making it appear as if her eyes were rolling in her head, as I handed her her cup of tea and gestured for her to sit down next to me on the couch. I sipped on mine as she continued:

"So says the stallion who got married to the shyest pony in Equestria in less than five months." I nodded, and changed the subject.

"So, Ditzy, how has things been going otherwise? It has been weeks since out last lunch date. How's work been?" Ditzy puffed up her chest with pride.

"In fact, I got a big raise for bringing a very important package to Canterlot! And Dinky is also making lots of friends in school, along with getting very good grades. The Doctor and I are very proud of her." Ditzy beamed with pride, and I couldn't help but feel envious.

"So… Red Storm… When are you and Fluttershy going to have foals?" I wasn't expecting that one.

"We… uh… well, we have been keeping it quite… safe as of late. I have been meaning to talk to Fluttershy about that, but I'm afraid we simply don't have the time or resources to care for a foal now. _'Well, we do, but with impending death from my father just around the corner, we really don't want to risk it.'_ Ditzy accepted this answer, nodding. She finished her tea, and rose.

"Well, it has been fun catching up Red Storm! We should really start doing those lunch dates again! I would love to talk over some muffins! Anyway, gotta fly. The Doctor is likely making a fresh batch as we speak! Ooh! Did I mention he bakes muffins? He's like a perfect match for me! See ya later!" I waved goodbye as she flew away, and I closed the door behind her. I returned my attention to the letter on the coffee table. I walked over and opened it, sipping on my tea as I read it.

'_Dear Red Storm,_

_It's me, Whitewash. I sent you a letter because I am out of town, on a 'business trip with Glock. You won't believe who we found in a saloon in Apploosa. We will be back tomorrow, but I decided to write to you just to put some suspense on you. Give you one hint: It's one of your old Honour Guard. Turns out I wasn't the only one who fled from your father's rule. See you soon, hon.'_

"…"

"…"

"… huh. I'll be damned."


	38. Prepping for the Past

_Author's Notey-thing of Sorryness: I am very sorry for such a fiendish delay between chapters as of late. My chapters aren't long, so there is no real excuse for being this late. All I can say is that I have been totally cracked out on the new Call of Duty: Black Ops II Zombies map pack "Buried". SO. MANY. GIBBLETS… Never mind that. Read on, my wonderful brony (and pegasister) readers. Read on._

Ch. XXXIV:

Prepping for the Past

I sat down on the couch, still clutching the letter in my hoof. _'One of my Honour Gaurdsponies? Impossible. She has to be joking… but she doesn't joke about that type of thing…'_ Just then, Fluttershy re-entered the house.

"Hello, Red Storm. I saw Ditzy flying away as I crossed the bridge. Did she pay a visit?" I nodded, and she moved to sit down next to me.

"She brought you a letter? That's an awfully nice thing to do so early in the day." I nodded again, and she noticed that I was being unusually quiet, behavior reserved for when I was either deep in thought or dreading something. Or both.

"What did it say? Is it from your father?" I shook my head, still trying to imagine who could have possibly have escaped my father's clutches. Who?

"The letter was from Whitewash. Apparently, she has located an old associate of mine in Appleoosa. One of my honour guards, so she says. I can't help but feel curious. She also said that they should be arriving tomorrow. I must admit, I am rather anxious. It would have been almost a year since I had seen any of my soldiers. While I must be wary of this meeting, it should be refreshing nonetheless. I was friends with several, after all. _'Especially Sandsturm…"_

"I'm sure it will be fun. I can't wait." My wife nuzzled me, and she got up, and moved towards the back of the house out into the garden.

I sat quietly for a few minutes before I realized I should go to work. Ever since Fluttershy and I wedded, we decided it would be best for me to work during the day, instead of having a night shift. I rose, and headed upstairs to the bedroom. I gathered up everything I needed and put them into a saddlebag, and then headed out. I walked down the lonely road to my place of work in the mountains. It was the only road I knew that took me to my destination, and I watched as my shadow hung by my side. The path led into the Everfree, and so I had to fly over the most dangerous areas, while trying to keep my eyes on the trail. One might wonder why I couldn't just fly all the way there, and the reason for that is that the mine entrance was rather secluded in the center of the Everfree. Most ponies didn't even know it existed even though one of Ponyville's larger exports was iron. It was dangerous and dirty work, but somepony had to do it. And I preferred that pony to be me, because I knew I could handle it. Besides, I loved smashing boulders with a pickaxe. It really helped me blow off steam.

Then, something caught my eye. Movement. At first, I thought it was a wild animal of some sort. But then I caught a glimpse of a dusty-brown coat on what appeared to be a stallion. _'Sandsturm.'_ No. Bad schizophrenic brain. Sandsturm is dead. Then again, it wouldn't hurt to check, eh?

I plunged down towards where I saw the odd memento. I landed on a dirt path, and ahead of me, I saw a pair of beautiful eyes peering at me through the underbrush. A pair of beautiful eyes connected to a dusty-brown body. _'…Sandsturm…'_ He ran off further into the forest.

"_Sandsturm!_ Damn you! Come back here!" I charged in after him. _I want answers_. I chased his wake for sever minutes, zig-zagging through the forest as if he were trying keep himself out of sight, but not lose me. I tried my best to keep up, and if I could fly I could easily catch him; but even I wasn't a good enough flier to fly in these thick woods. I might hit a tree or a baby bear or something.

We ran through the forest for several more minutes. Every time I thought I would be able to catch him, get some answers, he slipped just out of reach again. Then, the forest opened up and directly in front of us was a cavern. Sandsturm wasted no time in entering the cavern, and I hesitated before moving in after him. _'Was Sandsturm leading me here? For what reason would he lead me to a cavern in the middle of the Everfree? I am gonna be SOO late for work.'_

I entered the stone maw, and as I trotted further from the entrance, it became darker and darker. Then, just before it became too dark to see, Sandsturm appeared directly in front of me.

"Sandsturm! What is the meaning of-" Suddenly, he kissed me. My eyes rolled back in my head as his sweet taste filled my mouth. Then, he pulled back as suddenly as he came forward, and disappeared into the darkness again. I blinked a few times, trying to understand what just happened. Then, out of the darkness, I saw that crystals lining the ceiling began to illuminate. Deeper into the cavern I saw Sandsturm looking my way.

"Love will light your path, Red Storm. Do not wander in the dark alone," was all he said before continuing. I hurriedly made my way to him, but he was still keeping a good distance from me. He made a sharp right turn into another cavern hollow, and I quickly followed. However, when I entered, he was not there. What _was_ there was a large crystal altar, glowing with ancient magical power. Resting on top of it was a single red stone. As I moved closer, I quickly realized that what I was looking at was no stone, but a single, metal red horn. My heart stopped. _'This… this is a piece of… War…'_ I reached for the horn, but as my hoof touched the artifact, several specters burst from the altar and before I could react, encircled me, trapping me within the glowing room.

"… Who are you?" I questioned. They simply stared, studying me; inch by inch, as if they were trying to determine something of me. Then, one spoke.

"Pure of heart, but corrupt in mind." The rest merely nodded. As I tried to understand what was going on around me, I noticed that the horn was now glowing a bright red. This caught the attention of the lead spirit.

"However, the Red One has chosen its champion. Only time may tell of the results." _'Red One? Does it mean…?'_

Then, the horn burst into an inferno, and the whole room was consumed in fire. I thought I was to die, but it was not to be so. Out of the flames appeared Sandsturm once more.

"What is happening? I do not understand! Have I completely lost my mind?" The dusty stallion chuckled.

"No, Red Storm. You are fulfilling your destiny, one step at a time. Now, go. You are late for work."

My vision was then completely engulfed in the brilliant hellfire.

I woke up in a crater in the middle of the forest.

"… Did I eat some peyote before I left? What in the name of Luna just happened?" As I tried to gather myself, something clinked against one of my hooves. I looked down, and there, on the ground next to me, was the Right Red Horn of War.

"…"

'…_You are _so_ friggin' late.'_

I was flying home several hours later. Luckly, I hadn't gotten fired for being late, because the iron mine owner was nice chap, and was always grateful to me for being the hardest worker, so naturally he wasn't too upset about me being a few minutes late. I made sure to make up for it by working especially hard today anyway. I reached into my saddlebag and removed the Horn again, passing it from hoof to hoof. I wondered what this could mean. And why I had to have a drugtrip to find it. I re-placed it in my saddlebag before I dropped it. _'I will look into this further when I return home for sure. If this is truly a lost piece of War's Armour… then I hope nopony ever finds out about it. Especially not father.'_

I landed softly on the ground in front of the cottage before proceeding in. Inside I found my wife cleaning the cottage with the help of all of her animal friends. She was wearing a nice, blue dress.

"What is going on? What are you doing?" Fluttershy turned to me smiling.

"I'm not sure what you mean. I'm getting the house ready for our guests tonight. You didn't forget about Whitewash coming over, did you?" _Tick. Tick. __Click__. 'Shit.'_

"_Right!_ Of course! How could I forget! Do you need help with anything?" Fluttershy paused for a moment before shaking her head.

"Uhh… No. Not that I can think of. I have the birdies helping me clean and Angel is cooking dinner. I guess just get ready for company." I nodded briefly before heading upstairs. I slipped into our bedroom and quickly removed a plank from the floorboards below our bed, carefully removing my personal lockbox. It was enchanted with a special spell so that only I could open it by pricking myself with the spike on the top, which drew my blood. The box would only open when _my_ blood is drawn from _my_ body. It wasn't perfect, but as long as nopony killed me and used my body to open it, it was going to stay safe.

I stabbed my hoof on the spike before letting it seep in. I licked my hoof of the blood and let the wound close itself up. I knew my eyes had turned red once more, but I knew the effect would have worn off by the time I returned downstairs. One minute of red-eyes per milliliter of blood consumed.

The box popped open, and I quickly stowed the Horn within, among my gems and bits stored inside. There was enough money for me to move to Canterlot here, but at this point, I realized I did not need to. However, I kept it locked away under my bed because I didn't trust banks. They are known to fail. My eye twitched spastically at the thought, but I quickly gathered myself again. I closed the lockbox and replaced it under the floorboards, making sure to keep everything exactly as it was. I then moved to my wardrobe. Because I no longer wear clothes, I do not need a dresser. However, I required a wardrobe to store my armour in, a wardrobe I made sure to purchase in my first two weeks of living here. I opened the doors and took my time removing the leather under suit before following it with the Mithril and finally the Adamant Plate. If one of my Honour Guard were to show up, then I needed to look professional. Tradition had up till now ruled my life, and I think it always will.

I stepped back downstairs in my armour, and surprised Fluttershy. However, she knew me well, and quickly understood my motives.

"Is everything ready, love? I do believe they should be arriving soon… I mean, Whitewash never really gave us a time, but she hasn't arrived yet, and it is quite unlike her to arrive to anything after dark."

At that moment, there were three knocks at the door.

"Speak of the devil…"

"And the devil will come," Fluttershy finished. I moved to the door, and opened it for our guests. There was Whitewash, Glock, and two stallions. Whitewash was wearing her silverette plate armour, and Glock wore his Kevlar. One of the stallions I knew well. It was Tigerheart. He was the youngest of my Honour Guard. He was twelve when we went on that mission. Tells you how young Sanguinary ponies start training. Then, he was also a bit of a runt, being not only the youngest, but by far the smallest. Now, he was a fine-looking stallion. About my height. His zebra stripes were pretty hot too. He was wearing his armour as well. The stallion next to him however… I did not know him. He had a brown coat with a rusty mane. His eyes were sky blue and he looked _exactly like me._ He wore a ragged duster. He obviously was not in the wealthy department.

"Hello, visitors! Whitewash! Glock! Tigerheart! Doppelga- I mean, and you are?" The brown stallion nodded his head and spoke:

"Howdy. My name's Cinnamon Gale. You must be Prince Red Storm. It's an honour, your highness." I gave Whitewash the evil eye. She blushed, but Cinnamon Gale continued:

"I know you because I too am from the Sanguine Kingdom. I was just a lowly farmer though." I noticed he had wings. I also noticed everypony was still standing outside.

"I see… Oh, my! My manners! Come inside, come inside! Tigerheart! Cinnamon Gale! This is my wife, Fluttershy." Both Sanguinary stallions bowed their heads and addressed her as "princess" before I intervened.

"Seriously, stop that. It's really awkward." Tigerheart rolled his eyes.

"Your father hasn't disowned you yet. That makes your bride a princess." I sighed.

"Perhaps. But do not call us that, ok?" I turned to Fluttershy. "Can you please prepare the table, dear?" She nodded, eyes fixed on Gale. I was obviously not the only one to notice the resemblance. As she scurried off, I returned my now much more stern gaze to Whitewash.

"Now, explain to me, _Captain_. Why the devil are Tigerheart and my Doppelganger here?


End file.
